In 1991, the Mavericks Dragon Boat Club (the club) was formed after the Bankers Trust (Corporate crew) decided it was time to “step up” into more competitive racing and regattas, so moved from being a corporate crew to a sports crew.
With the move into the sports category came the opportunity to recruit members / paddlers from outside of BT. BT continued to sponsor the crew and club for many years. We didn’t adopt the name “Mavericks” for a couple of years. We continued to be known as BT (after our major sponsor) and then the “Mavericks”. Our logo was originally a symbol from Star Trek!! (I think it was Grant Brewer who came up with the idea as some sort of joke. Perhaps that’s how the star originated.)
There was a year in the mid 90s when we had the National Championships in Canberra and we were known as the “Macquarie Mavericks” because of Macquarie Bank’s sponsorship.
After some success in the Australian National Championships (we won in 1995), we travelled to New Zealand and competed in the World Club Crew Championships twice. One year we came 5th in the Mixed Final against clubs from all around the world. The funny story form the final was that Pacific Dragons finished a disappointing 6thafter their sweep managed to steer them under a wharf near the end of the course on Wellington Harbour!
Some of the great Head Coaches in the early years were Dio Wong, Grant Brewer and Carolyn Colley.
Excitingly for the long list of Maverick members, past and present, 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of Mavericks Dragon Boat Club.
Dragon Boating in Australia
In Australia, due to the Southern Hemisphere seasons, the dragon boating season generally runs between late August to mid April. Around Australia, there are regular regattas held for dragon boat clubs to race each other, as well as annual competitions held for state representative crews to compete. Clubs who outperform others in their state also compete against other state’s top crews at the National Titles (Australian Dragon Boat Championships), although the competition is open to all clubs in the country. The 2012 Australian Dragon Boat Championships will be held in the Docklands of Melbourne, Victoria.
The premier club dragon boat events are usually held in the state of New South Wales, at Sydney’s Darling Harbour (for the Chinese New Year Championship), as well as the Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith (NSW State Championships). The above-mentioned events attract the largest participation by clubs, crew numbers and spectators nationally. Other locations where regattas are held include the Middle Harbour in Roseville, as well as across NSW at Manning River in Taree, Lake Jindabyne, Lake Entrance and Grafton, as well as the Lake Burley-Griffin in the Australian Capital Territory. There are also various high-performing clubs in other states but competition is by far fiercest in NSW.
