Year 6 went dragon boat racing!

On Tuesday 18th September, Year 6 went dragon boat racing on a calm section of the Danube.   First we had a packed lunch on the bank of the lovely river while wondering what awaited us! Next we split into four groups. While two groups enjoyed similar games that young Vikings would have played on the shore with Mr Hammel (which included tag, dodgeball and throw the hoop on to the cone) the other two groups each put their life jackets on and boarded a dragon longboat.

Here we learnt that to build up speed and to keep the boat steady, we had to row in time with each other by watching the rower in front of us and listening to the drummer at the front. We used various methods to try and keep rhythm, such as tapping our oars against the side of the boat after each stroke, chanting a rhyme, rowers at the front starting and then gradually joining in two by two until everyone was rowing or by calling “hopp” and “kopp”. It was great fun in the boats, especially when the races began. It certainly tested our coordination skills and stamina. There were a few aching arms the next day!

By Thomas Shelley Year 6