The eagerly anticipated East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival is a great opportunity for local companies, organisations and clubs to enter a team and do battle on the waters of Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, whilst raising money for the charity of their choice. 

For the last few years, there has been particularly heightened friendly rivalry between two of the entered teams, Gunton Hall and Corton Coastal Village. With owners Warner Leisure Hotels as race sponsor, and the addition of two new crews representing their holiday resorts in Newark and North Wales, the competition is set to be hotter than ever when the teams take to the waters of Oulton Broad on Saturday 31st August.

Whilst all four Warner crews are looking forward to a superb day out, a fantastic team building event and the chance to raise important funds for their nominated charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, the crew managers from each team admit that beating the other will make the day that little bit more special. This will be Gunton Hall’s fifth year at the event and Corton’s fourth with the teams sharing the honours so far in the ‘head to heads’.

Corton’s General Manager, Fern Chapman, is ready for the challenge; “Our team is gearing up for what I’m sure will be another fantastic event. We narrowly pipped Gunton to the post in the third heat last year, and we’re looking forward to taking on the two new Warner teams from Thoresby Hall and Bodelwyddan Castle this time around. The event really brings the community together and it’s a great opportunity for us to raise much needed funds for our chosen charity, Macmillan.”

Gunton’s new General Manager Mina Fattahi agrees, “The Dragon Boat Festival is one that the Gunton Hall team has come to look forward to each year, and we can’t wait to reignite the friendly rivalry between our friends over at Corton. It was a very close race last year and we’re expecting the same level of anticipation in this year’s race.”

This battle of the hotels is sure to add some extra spice to what promises to be a fantastic day’s racing and it also gives other hotels and resorts an opportunity to put their name forward and enter a team to try and become the best in the region.

To take part in the dragon boat racing, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. The Festival is an open charity event with entrants invited to raise money for the charity of their choosing. Teams opting for the popular gold and silver entry packages, which include a charity donation as well as marketing benefits, can also nominate their favourite charity to benefit from their donation.

Gunton Hall and Corton Coastal Villages, both in Lowestoft, are in a portfolio of 14 country and coastal properties around the UK owned by Warner Leisure Hotels which specialises in activity breaks for adults. Warner Leisure Hotels is the proud sponsor of the 2019 East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival and they are working together with partner charity, Macmillan Cancer Support to fund a range of help and advice for people affected by cancer.

For further information and an entry form please visit:

www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/eastanglia or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718. For information about Warner Leisure Hotels, visit www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk or call 01442 863245