The Flyers have made their mark on the international stage, participating in a number of prestigious events, either as the Flyers or part of the Australian teams. Recent successes have included:

• 2011 World Championships in Tampa Florida
• 7th World Club Crew Championships 2010 Macau China

2011 World Championships in Tampa Florida

Eight intrepid Flyers were part of the Australian national team, the Auroras and battled it out with the world's best in Tampa Florida in Aug 2011.
Pictured on the right at the Offical Opening are (l to r): Robyne Kellett, Liz Draper, Val Field, Steve Moore, Maria Hegarty, Mick Turner, Kevin Taylor and Kim Cameron.

The intrepid eight paddled in the Australian team in a number of categories. The girls came home with a bunch of silver medals, with the blokes just missing out with a string of fourths, whcih was afantastic improvement on previous efforts.

Report from Kev Taylor

The worlds were Australia's best to date. The combined teams won 15 medals (one gold, 10 silver and four bronze). This haul put Australia third in the overall medal tally behind Canada and the US. This was a significant improvement over the last games two years ago which saw Australia only win four medals. With respect to my division (the Grand masters) our ladies won four silver. Unfortunately the Grand Master men (my team) did not win any bling.

But we came fourth in the 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 metre races. Being fourth in the world over these distance isn't a bad feat though. Needless to say the GM women have been rubbing salt into the wounds; nicely though

7th World Club Crew Champoinships - Macau

At the 2009 Australian Championships, the Flyers Grandmaster Womens team qualified as one of the Australian Club Teams to compete at the 7th World Club Crew Champtionships, held on the Nam Van Lakes in Macau.

The racing was tough - check out the results below. The times for the 200m races makes your eyes water. All up the results of the team have been fantastic. They achieved personal bests in the 500m & 2000m, and were in the Grand Final in the 200m - and this is against the best teams in the world!

Gillian has kindly provided a report on the trials and tribulations of being an international jet-setter dragon boat paddler - it's not easy. More stories and photo's to come.

Special Thanks to Om Shanti College and Total Property Manager - Bright Partners for their assistance in getting the team ready for Macau.

Trip Report

The Dragon Flyers team headed off for Macau on an adventure into the unknown. They had trained hard through the winter and were feeling fit and ready to give of their best.

Macau is a bustling city, an exciting mix of east and west; old and new; glitz and glamour; traditional and cultural. We were eager to taste all it had to offer. There were challenges ahead of us and highs and lows to contend with but participating in such a huge event on the world stage is something not to be forgotten.

The course on the Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre was very picturesque with the city in the back ground. Teams could walk from their accommodation to the site. There were 3800 competitors in this regatta which made it a huge system of people management. The organisation for getting teams on and off the water ran smoothly for four days. The IDBF officials came from all over the world and were very efficient.

The Flyers faced their first challenge on training day when we were not recognised as a team and had not been allocated a camp site. Our manager Bob maintained his authority and we took to the water. It was lovely to paddle in warm weather on salt water. On day 2 we were allocated a camp site in a compound ankle deep in mud and isolated from the main bunch. We had to drop our bags and run to compete. Despite the security guards we found our food supplies and a personal bag had disappeared. The 2 km race also set up a challenge with a dual starting pontoon and teams being sent off at 12 second intervals. The sound system echoed causing the words' stop your boat' to repeat a number of times. So we obeyed, only to discover the call was not for us! As this was an ongoing technical problem we were allowed to race in the premier women's event. We recorded a PB but felt we missed the excitement of a 2km race of chasing down other boats of our peers (the premier women were a little ahead of us). Another minor disappointment was when our representatives were unable to participate in the official opening ceremony paddle past due to the difficulties of being camped off site.

Being a manager brings on a number of challenges and Bob in his first event registered a dispute and won. For those with technical knowledge it was to do with the race tail plan and the fact that one Junior women's team raced in the same races as the GD women thereby preventing a GD team from competing in a final. This came up in the 200m event. Robyne's knowledge of the race rules certainly assisted in talking with the race jury where fairness underlies all decisions.

By race day 3 we had bulldozed ourselves into a camp site amidst other teams and enjoyed the camaraderie of international friendships and shirt swapping. We did a PB in the 500m but the other teams were stronger.

Our memories will include

1. The hotel Rio which repaired its pool on the 23rd floor especially for us. Joan led us in recovery every evening as we watched the sun set over the city and the ocean. We are threatening to compete in synchronised swimming as our cross training.
2. Daily stretching in the park led by Joan and some workouts on the park gym equipment
3. The best After Party ever in a huge venue with space and food for thousands. The stages, the music, the video communication between areas was exceptional. Cathy was our elegant team rep to receive our gift of mementos
4. Certificates of participation for all paddlers and a bound results book available instantly.
5. DF dancers joining the band on stage
6. Dylan made many international friends and will feature in home movies across the world. He now has a Macau dragon playmate

The Dragon Flyers were fortunate to enjoy a day without racing and as a team went on tour of Macau. Many members explored the old Portuguese restaurants and the amazing 34 casinos which make up Macau. We have tales to tell of the fringe benefits of overseas travel.

Day 1: 29 July - 2000m

Day 2: 30 July - 200m

Heat 1

Heat 2

Final

Day 3: 1 Aug - 500m

Heat 1

Heat 2

Semi Final

Minor Final

Grand Final