Press Release

September 2008
Hemel Hempstead Canoe Club at GB Team at European Dragonboat Championships

Hemel Hempstead Canoe Club was well represented at a scorcher of a European Dragonboat Championships in Sabaudia, Italy, from 5-7 September. Shirine Voller, Slasher Preston, Jurassic Petersen and Mark Taylor competed in the Great Britain Ladies and Mens' Open & Senior teams respectively in the searing late-summer heat of southern Italy.

The GB Ladies walked away with three medals: silver in the 2000m and 500m events, and a bronze in the 200m, losing out by a dragon's whisker to Russia, and to Germany in the 200m. Shirine Voller of HHCC said, "We'd all trained really hard, I don't think I'd ever been so fit, it was a great result and a great event!".

Our Open Men's team faced tough competition from strong European rivals and were unlucky not to take home any medal-ware this time round. The senior men came through strongly to take home two medals.

Regardless of what happened on the race-course, the 'best-bopping-on-the-beach' contest at the after-event party was convincingly won by the GB contingent, who held their own long into the night!!

Prague hosts the 2009 World Dragonboat Championships and the next European Champs will be held in Amsterdam in 2010. Kayak sprint sessions are ideal training for this sport, so why not give international dragonboat racing a shot by joining Hemel Hempstead Canoe Club?

Note: Slasher Preston is running winter training sessions - click for more details