Corporate: Team Development via Dragon Boating

Dragonboating is one of the fastest growing team sports in Australia. Why is that? Because it's a fun safe, non-contact sport that allows virtually anyone to get involved and "give it a go".

Entries into the dragonboat competition of the NSW Corporate Games remains as strong as ever, with 32 teams entering the 2008 competition. Other high profile events such as the Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Festival has seen participation from corporate organisations setting new participation records every year.

Dragonboating improves employee interaction, fosters company pride, and reinforces team spirit while creating a social arena where all employees can get to know each other better. Other benefits arise from improved fitness, health and self esteem.

Sydney Dragon Blades (SDB) has the knowledge, expertise and commitment to assist in the development of corporate teams. We have over 10 years of experience in training corporate crews. For the 2008 Chinese New Year races we have trained 6 corporate crews, and of the 32 teams in the 2008 corporate games we have trained 3 teams.

SDB can tailor a package for your specific needs, be it:

• Wanting that competitive edge for your company crew(s).
• Having a friendly challenge with a rival department or a client.
• Simply developing your workforce through team building exercises.

SDB can provide your organisation with:

• Experienced Coaches & Trainers
• Experienced Sweeps (steerers)
• Dragon Boat and Paddle Hire
• A Secure Environment

SDB takes every care to offer training sessions that are fun, safe and beneficial to all paddlers and teams who take part.

Companies that SDB have trained in the past include: AMP, Australia Post, Cable & Wireless Optus, Chase Manhattan Bank, Cisco, Coca-Cola Amatil, Com Tech Communications, CSC, Dimension Data, DWS, Erisson, Ernst & Young, GIO, GlaxoSmithKline, Kelloggs Australa, Macquarie Bank, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, PeopleSoft, QBE, Star City, Sun Microsystems, Tooheys, Toyota and Volkswagen.

"The folks at SDB were nothing short of fantastic. During each training session they were professional, very enthusiastic, and catered to each individual. They were very accommodating, from providing extra paddlers to last minute training sessions. What impressed me the most was their commitment to the team. Their presence on race day meant allot to everyone, giving last minute tips and reassuring everyone. Mentally it was great for the team to have familiar faces to support you.

Thanks again!"
Steven Gieng, Team Captain, DWS

"Our two PeopleSoft Corporate Games teams signed up for pre-games training with SDB and the only pity of it is that we didn't have more. The quality of the training was excellent, with the SDB sweeps and coaches clearly committed to and enthusiastic about getting the best they could from very raw material. Safety, paddling technique, race tactics, practice starts...everything was covered professionally but with great friendliness. I think most of the team members enjoyed the training more than the actual racing!"
Colin Wild, Team Captain, PeopleSoft Dragon Hard Corporate Games teams

"The Sydney Dragon Blades were just fantastic, very friendly and extremely professional. Sun Microsystems asked the Sydney Dragon Blades to help train our team, SunBlades, for the 2001 Corporate Games. The training was great, but what really impressed me was the training docs, race tips and maps to training venues we received before the race. It felt like the Sydney Dragon Blades were our partners in the sport and were really committed to ensuring that we had a fun and safe introduction to the Dragon Boat Racing. Sun will definitely be using the Sydney Dragon Blades in our race to the top next year"
David Watson, Team Captain, Sun Microsystems SunBlades