Albany down powerhouse teams to win national title

Albany Cruisers Dragon Boat Club overcame the nation’s top dragon boating clubs to claim a gold medal at the Masters Games in Tasmania last week.

Albany took out the open 20s division, beating powerhouses Motley Crew and Phoenix to be crowned national champions.

Albany coach Trish Williams highlighted the impressive nature of the win considering the size of Albany’s membership base.

“We’ve got 27 members and 19 over here so we did really well given the size of our club when you look at the clubs we’re up against have more than 60 members,” she said.

“Everybody is absolutely pumped — we’re pretty excited after winning that one.”

Also competing in the 10s for the 40-plus and 60-plus age categories, Albany managed fourth and fifth respectively.

Williams praised her team’s commitment during the training phase and the support received throughout the season.

“They’ve all worked really hard in the lead-up to the event, so that hard work has clearly paid off,” she said.

“To rank highly in the other races was also really pleasing for the club.

“We’ve had amazing support from those who didn’t make the trip over too, so we’d love to thank everyone who has been involved.”

The Masters Games is a two-yearly sporting event with more than 6000 competitors from across Australia competing in more than 40 sports.