THE tenth anniversary of the Dragon Boat racing event on Saturday was a fund raising record breaker.
Although the final total will not be known for a while, event organisers say it is certain to top the £33,000 raised for Jersey Hospice Care last year. A record breaking total of 52 teams took part at a packed Albert Pier. The Condor Ferries sponsored festival was the biggest one-day dragon boat racing event in Europe this year.
Event organiser Linzi Duckwoth, who headed a team of six volunteers from Royal Bank of Scotland International that co-ordinated the day, said that they were oversubscribed and had to turn race teams away. ‘It was great to have so many teams and we are already thinking about next year. Perhaps we may try and make it a two day event over the whole weekend,’ she said. The winning team on what was a beautiful sunny day with calm seas were the Collins Stewart Water Polo crew.
The team who raised the most money were the boys and girls that made up the Aye, Aye Capita boat. They qualified for the final as a result but initially thought that they had just missed out in the eight team race because they had the ninth fastest time. The real winner was Jersey Hospice Care with thousands of people turning out to play their part in offering support.
• Words: Harry McRandle • Pictures: David Ferguson
• Picture sales here: www.thisisjerseyphotos.com
The winning Collins Stewart Water Polo team
Article posted on 22nd September, 2008 - 2.58pm
Most Commented: