Forty Plurabelles (two teams) travelled to Ballina Dragons’ first regatta and received a warm welcome, with tea, sandwiches and cakes. Experienced and new paddlers were mixed on the teams. The Plurabelle 1 team qualified for the BCS final, and, after a very closely fought race, won in 54.56 seconds. The race commentator’s voice boomed over the venue and we were renamed as ‘The Powerbelles’ – quite apt, we thought.
At the prize-giving ceremony, Ballina Dragons surprised us by presenting a special recognition award. They thanked us for setting up the first dragon boat club in Ireland and said they felt they were ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’. It was a very proud moment for our club.
After the ceremony we went back to the Quay West pub, where the Ballina Dragons had arranged live music. We mingled with the other dragon boat teams and enjoyed a terrific evening, with plenty of singing and dancing.
The Ballina Dragons have to be heartily congratulated on the outstanding success of their inaugural regatta, which was incredibly enjoyable.
Warmup Plurabelle style
