Speech in the ACT Legislative Assembly

6 May 2010

MR COE (Ginninderra) (6.51): I rise today to speak about a particularly active, sometimes in the unearthly hours of the day, group in Canberra and that is the dragon boat race community. Dragon boating is a sport which is growing in popularity and one that I have participated in on occasion and one that I have found particularly gruelling, I must admit, but one that I found very enjoyable as well. The Canberra Dragon Boat Association does a great job in facilitating the events in the capital and in sending people around Australia and abroad to compete in competitions.

In the ACT there are a number of different teams and those teams are: ADFA, the dragon flyers, the Canberra griffins, the ice dragons, the navmat dragons, the diamond phoenix, the uni dragons, the Canberra titans and the dragons abreast. And there are junior teams. They are the Canberra sparks, the Blue Gum community school, Canberra Girls Grammar School, Canberra Grammar School, St Clare’s college and St Edmunds.

Next month a number of people from the ACT will be going to China from the 10th to the 27th to compete in some competitions in a few different cities there. I wish those people that will be travelling all the best. I understand it is just an interim list but I do wish them and any newcomers that may be signing up in the coming few weeks all the best. I wish the following well in their trip abroad: Peter Alchin, Mark Carson, Kristy Carswell, Fiona Coughtrie, Annie Forestier, Rebecca Green, Sarah Hanley, Lachlan Henderson, Matthew Jones, Min-Chul Kim, Anna Lawrence, Sam Lawrence, Sophia Marmotta, Duncan McDonald, Vanessa Mercer, Faye Pearse, Michael Prendergast, Sharon Prendergast, Graham Reardon, Rebecca Snape, Nick Tongue, Kim Toussai, Ian Vivian, Michael Wilson, Margaret Wolf, Natalie Woods and Matt Zaharias.

In a couple of weeks the Canberra Dragon Boat Association will have their annual presentation night. That is happening on 22 May. I wish all participants and all people who attend that evening the very best of fortune for the night and I do congratulate the winners in advance for what has been a very good season.