The course at Worcester was altered slightly this year due to the damage done to the race course during the recent floods. The devastation was apparent as we got out of our cars but the event was able to continue as normal apart from the large amount of dust we all ate in the windy conditions!

During the day tributes were paid to Tim Ward of Worcester Dragon Boat Racing Club who sadly died in July. A sad but uplifting moment saw his widow, Polly, carried by his Worcester colleagues in a memorial paddle up the course to the sound of applause and cheering from all crews and supporters. Many paddlers were glad to be able to pay their respects to him on his home course.

Racing started on time and Exe-Calibre lined up against Worcester and Secklow 100 in what turned out to be our only race at the distance. Narrowly beaten into 3rd place by Worcester we managed to add 10points to our league total in the 200m. Thames Raging Dragons and Typhoon Tigers won the minor and major finals respectively and we moved straight on to the 450m qualifiers.

In our first we again raced against Worcester, this time with Thames Taniwhas, and again came third with a time of 2:04:71 which took us to the 3rd repechage. This time we came second, beating Taniwhas and giving Bristol a serious run for their money and forcing them to paddle hard. This result took us into the Plate competition as 2nd fastest runner up.

We easily won our heat against Amathus Dragon Jockeys and Amathus Wasps giving us a place in the Plate Major Final. Facing Worcester for the 3rd time and Secklow 100, we came in a creditable 3rd, gaining 11 points in the 500m league and ending a day to be proud of.

Next stop the National Finals in Nottingham in October. We firmly believe we can knock 4 seconds off our best time in the event last year, and are all working hard to make sure that happens.

Full Race Results (pdf file)