The threat of rain and lightening did nothing to deter the enthusiasm of the crews as they prepared to do battle on the water for a place in the final and a chance to lift the Dragon Boat trophy. In fact the sun kept up an appearance all day and spectators were able to enjoy an incredibly close run competition.

The teams were drawn from many different aspects of life in Warrington, including a pub, retail organisations, accountants, utility companies, recruitment consultants and friends rowing in memory of family or friends. It was a great atmosphere with young and old alike coming along to support their teams. The common theme was a desire to support patient care at St. Rocco’s Hospice which relies on over two thirds of its funding being generated by the generosity of the local community.

After three rounds of racing it came down to places in the final being decided by hundredths of seconds. In the end, after a hard fought race, Dainty’s Dragons pipped Mighty Ducks and Team Z to the post with MDS a valiant fourth.

The trophies and medals were presented by the Mayor of Warrington, Cllr Les Morgan, with the IKEA team winning the trophy for best dressed team. With many teams sporting specially designed t-shirts for the event, IKEA had gone the extra mile, all of them wearing sparkly green castle tattoos on their arms, representing the St. Rocco’s castle.

“This has been a fantastic day,” said Rachel Ingham, Community Fundraiser and event organiser for St. Rocco’s, “It’s been great to see so many people down here getting behind the teams. All the rowers have tried their very best and it’s made it so exciting to watch. The teams have also been hard at work raising a great deal of sponsorship to help us to continue to deliver our care to those who need it. We’d like to say a really big thank you to everyone involved.”

You can see more pictures on our Flickr feed.

If you are interested in entering a team for next year’s race, you can register your interest by contacting Rachel on 01925 575780 or email rachelingham@stroccos.org.uk.