Worcester Dragons Welcome Pack
Hello new member! Welcome to Worcester Dragons!
We are both a social club and a competitive team that seeks to perform as well as
possible at racing events. It’s entirely up to you how serious you want to be, but
rest assured there’ll always be a seat on a boat for you!
In this pack you’ll find:

  1. About the club
  2. Who’s who
  3. Training sessions
  4. Racing
  5. Socials

  1. About the club
    You’ve probably already been down for a session or two so you will know that we operate out of our yard by the swan sanctuary on the St John’s side of the river, just before the Worcester Cricket Ground. There is the cricket ground car park right next to us, but if you park there, you must buy a ticket- they do check.
    Otherwise there is some free parking along the road just before the bridge, just make sure you’re there early enough.
    We have an alternative venue, which is the scout hut on the far side of Gheluvelt Park. You will be told in advance if a session is moving there. The club provides all a new paddler needs; paddles, buoyancy aids, training, dragon boats, and smiley faces. If you need help or feel unsure about something just ask. We are a team and we all muck in and help out, so when you arrive before a session look to see what jobs need doing, e.g. unhooking the boat covers, sweeping the steps, getting heads and tails out of the shed. Likewise at the end of each session make sure you put away your buoyancy aid and paddle, help take the boats off the water etc. Again if you’re unsure what needs doing, ask. Once you’ve been with us for a while you might want to get some of your own club kit. You can buy items from our club area on the Kitlocker site. We also wear black bottoms for training and racing. When you’re ready to buy a paddle remember some

Coaching Team

Our head coach is Nigel Leigh, who runs most sessions. If you want to improve your paddling, listen to him. If you’re not sure about something that he’s said or you want extra support, just ask him or another coach at the end of the session. We have several qualified coaches who also run sessions and offer one-to-one
coaching in the boat. Our coach level 3s are Nigel, Maggie and Ben. Level 2s are Max and Russ. Andy and Hann (basic helm) are currently on the coaching programme. We generally ask non-coaching paddlers not to volunteer extra advice but you are free to ask anyone around you if you need some help. When you sign up for a training session you will see a column headed ‘Coaching?’. This column is for you to indicate how much one-to-one coaching you would like in a particular session. If you are new and still learning the basics, you might want to put ‘yes’ in this column to indicate that you would like lots of coaching. If you leave the column blank you are happy to receive general coaching feedback and advice along with most other paddlers. If you feel like you have enough to be thinking about for now you can put ‘no’ in this column and you will be left alone for that session. We occasionally run video sessions where we film the boats and this is one of the most useful sessions if you want to really see what your paddling is like and how to improve.

Crew Managers

Your crew management team is Andy, Anna, Manda, Hann and Max. Crew Managers select crews for race days using the crew managers’ selection criteria. They look at technique, experience, fitness, attendance and attitude. They also create the boat layouts for our weekly training sessions, determining where paddlers sit to effectively balance the boat.

  1. Training Sessions
    Our usual training sessions, unless you are informed otherwise, are:

Thursday Club steps @ the yard – 6.30pm meet for 7pm on the water, until around
8.30pm.
Sunday Club steps @ the yard – 9.30am meet for 10am on the water, until around
12noon.

  1. Racing
    Racing is exciting and it’s what we’re all training for. Any member can sign up for a race, just look out for the e-mail, click on the link and sign your name. Speak to the coach, crew managers or any member if you have any questions about racing. We will do our best to prepare you! Below is some extra information about race costs and where the money goes.

a) If you sign up for a BDA (British Dragon boat Association) league event you need BDA membership, costing £35. The money goes to the BDA and provides personal insurance and permission to race. There is the option to pay a one-off £10 day rate if you are only entering one or two races during the year.

b) Race fees are approximately £15 for the day. This charge covers the cost of entering our crews and the cost of transporting or hiring our boats. Obviously, it depends on how many people are racing on the day, but the club usually picks up some of the cost.


c) Transport to the race event. Organise yourself into a car-full of people to keep the cost down. If you have spaces in your car or are struggling to find a lift look on the sign-up sheet and ask around. If you’re still struggling let one of the crew managers know, they might be able to help.


d) Race tops are required on race days but if you don’t have one you may be able to borrow one, so ask a member.

  1. Socials
    We have occasional social events so look out for e-mails and Whats App messages informing you of up-and-coming events. In the past we’ve had BBQ’s, Christmas meals, curries, quizzes, Black Tie events etc. Any ideas for socials you would like to see happening just get in contact. There are also more informal social gatherings after training; on Sunday some of us head to a cafe by the river or in town for a coffee and chat.
  2. See you on the water!