This event was like no other sponsored by Chippenham Borough Lands Charity and Chippenham Town Council, not only was their dragon boat racing but there was also an array of family entertainment, ranging from bouncy castles, little league rugby practice and even a live band playing throughout the course of the day. The event started at 10am, with all 10 teams arriving with a confident and positive attitude for the challenging competition ahead. We heard team chants from the beginning and families were flooding in by the second for the event and the many added extras.
The weather was warm and the teams real keen to get out onto the water, the first round started and teams started to load the boats, the first two teams set out and made record times for the day, team Ultrawarmers was the fastest, with a time of 1:06:43 and throughout the day this wasn’t beaten.
The day although focused on dragon boating and raising thousands for a good causes, there was also other ways in which the community supported this event, there was over 30 stalls with miniature games and raffles, each individually different supporting multiple charities.
Each of the teams that competed at the event also had their own team marquee, which was supplied and installed by Race the dragon, teams would congregate at their team base between races and for lunch, sharing the event atmosphere with their neighbouring teams.
The next 3 rounds ran smoothly, each team trying their hardest to be the Chippenham Dragon Boat Champion’s 2015. The spring boarders, Amber team and the Ragnal arms all were tough competition and stood out the most during the day, averaging times of 1:08:00, just 2 seconds behind the Ultra warmers.
