Thanks for taking the time to visit our Dragon Boat Festival 2015 page...!!

Team members: Tanya, Jo, Thomas, Jean Moussa (C), Dan C, Ellie, Izzy, Hermione, Aimee, Abbie, Nathan, Iain, Nick, Dan H, Rob, James and, not to forget, everyone who made it to Bewl Water to show their support on the day. A big shout-out also to Izzy's uncle Doug and Dave for some additional muscle power!

Last year’s Dragon Boat Racing at Bewl Water was an amazing display of paddle power, fun and excitement with both the actual dragon boat racing and fundraising efforts exceeding expectations. More than £2,600 was raised to support local community projects in Cambodia, and we’ll aim to build on last year’s success with a few fun-filled training  sessions in preparation for this year’s event for those who are interested.

Dragon boat racing has long traditions in Cambodia with people from all over the country celebrating the Cambodian Water Festival (Bon Om Tuk) and watching the boat races in Siem Reap, in the provinces and, not least, along Sisowath Quay in Phnom Penh which attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Harnessing Oodlesofdosh through Paddling and Exhaustion

The Cambodian Water Festival lasts for (at least) three days, and commemorates the end of the rainy season as well as the reversal of the flow of the Tonle Sap River. The English rainy season is rather constant and we'd be surprised if The Thames suddenly should change it's flow and run upstream from the Thames Estuary. We'll brave the English weather and put some serious muscle behind our fundraising efforts in this year's Dragon Boat Festival at Bewl Water in Kent on Saturday 12 September 2015.

A full Dragon Boat Team should ideally consist of 16 paddlers plus one drummer. Much due to last year's success, we immediately got a few sign-ups for this year's event, but we're looking for some more people who would like to challenge their dragon boat racing skills in the Dragon Boat Festival 2015....!!

So, please get in touch if you would be interested in a fun day in The Garden of England where you'll be 'harnessing oodlesofdosh through paddling and exhaustion' and, at the same time, creating awareness for local community projects in Cambodia.

Just Text Giving - donations by text

In the UK...? A convenient, quick, safe and easy way to support The Dragon Boat Team in their fundraising endeavours is to pick up your mobile and send BEWL70 £1 / £5 / £10 / £20 / £30 / £50 to 70070

E.g. BEWL70 £5 to 70070

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Lastly, on behalf of all the young adults and local grass-roots projects supported by HOPE, many big, warm thanks to all participants and dedicated supporters...!!