Kai Iwi Lakes Training Camp
February rolled around which meant that the day finally arrived and we were off to Kai Iwi for the annual Dragon boat training camp run by ADBA from the 12 - 14 February.
This year we were one of the few teams that had the majority of the team registered to attend the training camp which would prove to work in our favour, not only for personal improvement but for the team as a whole.
The adventurous ones chose to camp out at the lake and the rest of us were privileged to have the benefit of a warm shower and bed, offered up by Cathy’s friend Maria. She has a beautiful 5 bedroom house just a mere 20 minutes from the lake.
The weekend’s activities started off with a beautiful sunset paddle to the other side of the lake and back. Thereafter we said farewell to the ladies at the lake and made our way back to the house to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Maria and served up by our thoughtful captain Linda and some of the other team members. The fun did not stop there….
The standing tradition is after the training camp comes to an end on Saturday, there is an after party which is kicked off by a team skit competition. This put the team’s creative skills to the test and with a bit of a team effort, the decision was made to perform the Banana Phone song/dance dressed up as Minions. Once the dinner dishes were done and lunch was prepped for Saturday, it was time to get our groove on and fine tune our routine. Let’s just say a lot of laughs were had by all but in the end we got there and we were ready.
The morning quickly came about and with it a glorious sunshine day which would lead to a full intense day of training. The group was split up between the Auckland Rep squad and the paddlers taking part in the training clinics run by the various coaches to help fine tune their techniques. After an intense morning of paddling, lunch rolled around and a fine spread was provided by Linda once again, which was well deserved after all of the morning activities. Once lunch was done, it was time for some more paddling and once the dragons were laid to rest on the trailers, everyone was able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings on offer and a refreshing dip in the lake.
The afternoon quickly rolled around and after some scrumptious dinner, cooked on the BBQ by our resident chef Linda, it was time to get dressed and be ready for our skit. Nerves aside, the team was ready. We reserved our front row seats and waiting patiently for our turn to come. What a surprise when we were called up first… 1.2.3. Music started playing and we were off. Team after team followed and the evening was enjoyed by all. Finally it was time to announce the winner. The finalists were Random Jaffas, Jaffetes, Busting with Life. The winner was determined by the crowd. Drum Roll and the winners are…. Busting with Life!! We were absolutely ecstatic and with that the music started playing and to celebrate we had a dance together to close off the evening.
As the sun set we once again bid a good night to the ladies at the lake and went back to the house where we had a chance to catch up on the day's festivities and to recuperate after a hard day's work of training.
The next morning we cleaned up, packed up and enjoyed a yummy breakfast together to celebrate Cathy’s birthday, before heading back to the long white cloud, Auckland
The weekend turned out to be not only a time for personal development but also as a team as a whole and we got to make some very special long lasting memories. The skills which we had all learnt and gained would hopefully help us towards reaching our goals for both Regionals and Nationals. We have got this ladies, let’s do this!