(From L-R) Becca Beattie, Madi Gyde and Gwen Slote are stoked to be selected to represent the Black Dragons at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships.
The Sciences will be well represented at the upcoming World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Thailand, with finance staff Gwen Slote and Madi Gyde, and student Becca Beattie, all selected for the New Zealand Black Dragons team.
The trio, all members of the local dragon boat team, Ōtepoti Dragons, are joining the 60-member New Zealand squad which will compete in the 16th World Championships taking place in Thailand in August.
Experienced paddler Madi has been dragon boating for eight seasons and the upcoming event will be the second world championships event she's participated in. On her arrival in Dunedin three years ago, Madi also set up the local Ōtepoti Dragons team, which now has around 30 members.
Gwen, who joined the Ōtepoti Dragons team two seasons ago, refers to the journey it's taken her on so far as an “amazing mid-life crisis”!
“There is something really fantastic and unique about the team culture of dragon boating,” Gwen explains. “Getting 20 people doing something together at the same time and in sync is very cool.”
Her selection for the New Zealand squad came as a shock however, given she only started paddling two years ago. “It's fantastic though and the bonus is my kids are stoked and are saying their mum is a national athlete, which is hilarious.”
Becca, who has just completed the papers for her Bachelor of Science majoring in psychology and neuroscience, calls herself a “baby dragon” as she only started boating part way through the current season.
“The team are a diverse family-like group who have been so welcoming,” Becca says. “The camaraderie out on the water together is fantastic, and it's a combination of being really challenging, but with heaps of joy and a great sense of pride for the whole team.”
Becca, Madi and Gwen are on intensive training schedule, prepping for the Championship in August.
The trio have all been selected for the premier category of the Black Dragons and are now on a strict training schedule on the water and at the gym in preparation for their early August departure.
They are all looking forward to the event as not only will it be the first World Championships since the pandemic, but it's also the first time that paddlers from across the motu have been selected for the Black Dragons.
For Gwen it was a no-brainer to continue riding the wave of her new sport and head to the Worlds.
“It's an amazing opportunity for training and meeting other paddlers, and now we are off to Thailand, so that's nothing to complain about! It's going to be fun.”
Kōrero by Guy Frederick, Sciences Communications Adviser