It was one of those Henry V days -  when "gentlemen in England, now abed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here."

The first Southport Rotary Charity Dragon Boat Race was a great day out, for participants, and spectators, and, yes, even for those who were beavering away making it all happen. Fifteen teams took part in the event, each team raising money for their own chosen Charity. The teams were:

  • Queenscourt Hospice Staff and KGV College Students
  • New Age Accountancy Practice
  • Ellerslie Court
  • Sandpipers
  • JJB Sports Southport
  • Scarisbrick Hotel Sport & Leisure
  • Royal Clifton Hotel
  • Mitchell and Wright Printers Ltd
  • Pershing Securities Ltd
  • Plantec Holdings Ltd
  • Merchant Taylors' Boys' School
  • Tarleton Rugby Union Football Club
  • Ball & Percival Estate Agents
  • Sefton Sports and Leisure - Active Sefton
  • Fletchers Solicitors
Two trophies were competed for, the Challenge Cup and the Plate. Merchant Taylors' team were the winners of the Challenge Cup, collecting funds for the Wooden Spoon charity, which helps disabled and disadvantaged children. Runners-up were JJB Sports
Southport who raised money for Woodlands Hospice.
The Plate competition was won by Sefton Sports and Leisure - Active Sefton, who  narrowly beat Fletchers Solicitors.

More than a thousand people attended the event, a wonderful turn-out for the first running of what we hope will become an annual event.

Rtn Mike Halsall, organiser of the Dragon Boat Race, said "We had an excellent turn-out, far more people than we anticipated came to the event, and we raised more than   £21,000  for local charities. Everything went perfectly on the day, and we would like to thank the district Scouts and the people and business community of Southport for their magnificent support."

A number of the teams have already expressed an interest in next year's event, and we hope it will be bigger with more boats and more teams raising even more money.
So, if you are interested in paddling in our next event, please bookmark our Dragon Boat webpages and keep in touch!

To go to the Picture Gallery, click on the picture at the top. Can't say we're not logical!
Or, alternatively, for an easy life click HERE

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If you have stowed your paddle, and shaken the odd mackerel out of the docksiders, why not visit our Guestbook and tell us what you think?