A DRAGON boat racing team is looking for new recruits.
Pershore Phoenix is a mixed-age leisure and racing dragon boat racing team, based in Defford, which competes at country-wide events.
The team are now asking anyone aged 12 and over and families who are looking to try a new sport to have a taster session.
The sport sees teams compete in Dragon Boats, which are large canoe-like vessels fitted with ornately carved dragon's heads and tails.
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Crews of up to 16 people sit in pairs and paddle to compete in races over distances of around 250m.
Each boat has a drummer beating time to keep the paddlers in unison, and a professional helmsperson in the stern to guide the boat.
According to dragonboatevents.com, the sport began more than 2000 years ago on the banks of rivers in the valleys of southern China as a fertility ritual thought to bring good luck to the coming crop season.
Pershore Phoenix has competed in Stockton on Tees, Manvers lake, London, Nottingham and Henley on Thames.
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In 2022, the team had two training weekends at Olton Mere and Lake Bala, coming home with second in the open 200 metres and third for the men in the 200 metres against larger teams.
The team trains at Defford every Sunday morning, and on Wednesday evenings in the summer months.
If you are interested in having a free taster session with the team, you can visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/have-a-go-at-dragon-boating-tickets-516000590657.
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