East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival 2016

With just under one month to go until Oulton Broad in Lowestoft reverberates to the sound of beating drums, there is still time to get your team together and join in the fun!

The Dragon Boat Festival celebrates its 10^th anniversary on Sunday 22^nd May and 20 teams from Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Ipswich and all over East Anglia have signed up so far, eagerly anticipating a spectacular day on and off the water in aid of East Coast Hospice. It’s the perfect event to improve team spirit and positivity so why not join them on the start line in May?

Marco Barra, representing 2015 Champions Netmatters, explains how entering a team has helped his business, “We enter for team bonding, to promote a healthy living culture within the workplace and to motivate and inspire not only those working here at Netmatters but also those we work with. Paddlers and non-paddlers, their friends and family are all encouraged to come along and get involved on the day which strengthens relationships inside and outside the workplace. This directly benefits the way we work together which in turn helps us to deliver projects more effectively. A positive atmosphere brings with it a whole raft of benefits, motivated team spirits translate directly into efficiency and productivity”.

The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. To take part in the dragon boat racing and help raise money for East Coast Hospice (ECH), no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm. Medals and trophies are up for grabs for the top three crews, top mixed crew and the ‘best dressed’ crew and the top fundraising crew for ECH will also receive a unique dining experience at The Hotel Victoria in Lowestoft – a great incentive!

The teams entered to date come from all corners of East Anglia and represent a variety of different industries so the inter-company rivalry is definitely building! Festival entrants so far include Silver teams; Mumfords Hardware (Southwold), Plandescil (Attleborough), ABP East Anglia (Lowestoft) and Standard entrants; Lovewell Blake (Lowestoft), NetMatters Ltd (Wymondham), Grosvenor Casino (Great Yarmouth), Howes Percival LLP (Norwich), Bourne Leisure-Gunton Hall (Lowestoft), RS Scan Lab (Ipswich), Corton Coastal Village (Lowestoft), Leathes Prior Solicitors (Norwich), Proserv (Great Yarmouth), Snelling Business Systems (Norwich), Lovell Partnerships (Norwich), two teams from AST Applied Satellite Technology (Great Yarmouth) and East Coast Hospice (Great Yarmouth).

As well as the dragon boat racing, teams will be able to enjoy a whole variety of bankside entertainment including a funfair, children’s activities, bungee trampolines, giant inflatables, food stalls – and even a special flypast by a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial flight!

Visitors will also be able to find out more about the work of Festival charity, East Coast Hospice. At present there are no inpatient hospices in the Waveney and Yarmouth area but East Coast Hospice is working to change this.

Jeff Wood, Community Fundraiser for ECH comments, “East Coast Hospice were delighted to play a part in bringing back such a high-profile event to the people of Lowestoft and Waveney last year and we hope that in the coming month local businesses will continue to get behind the Festival and take up the challenge. It will be another wonderful day for colleagues to get together, cheered on by their families and friends, and there is still time to be part of it! We really appreciate the continuing support of the community and local companies to help us ‘Raise the Roof’ of Margaret Chadd house. Our own dragon boat team is not expecting to win but we look forward to taking part and seeing you all there!”

Photos attached of previous Dragon Boat Festivals courtesy Gable Events picture library

For further information and an entry form please visit: www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/eastanglia or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718.

To find out more about the services of East Coast Hospice call 01493 718707 or visit www.eastcoasthospice.org.uk

advert