The Dragon Boat Challenge awards ceremony was held at York Mansion House on the 26th October. The event was attended by over seventy people and was hosted by the full civic party. York Rotary delight in the support from York Civic Party.
The evening was a chance to thank our four event sponsors The Shepherd Group, Visavvi, Simpson (York) Ltd and Coney Street Riverside. Their support is both enthusiastic and invaluable to the success of the event.
We were delighted to be able to announce at the event that the 2023 Dragon Boat Challenge raised £87,000, taking the total raised over the last 21 years to virtually £1.5m. This year four teams raised over £4,000 and for the second year running Sheppee International raised the most sponsorship, with a magnificent total of £7,560, they were presented with a certificate and further cheque for their charity.
The well sought after award of the Tailenders trophy, for the slowest team, was won by Kitchen for Everyone, they are delighted to be holding the trophy for a year. The trophy itself was made by David Walkden, a York Rotarian, many years ago and it was produced from an old floorboard which has stood the test of time very well.
The Ged Bell trophy for the best dressed team was awarded to York Steiner school for their team “Steiner’s Cool”, they worse wonderful sunflower outfits.
The Challenge trophy for the overall winners was presented to Wetherby PEI’s (Physical Education Instructors) and their team Wetherby PEI’s. The runners up were Ged Bell Butchers and they won the Ouse Cup for the fastest commercial team. Ged Bell have won the Challenge trophy several previously so we look forward to a great competition again in 2024.
A number of team charities attended the event and certificates were handed to all competing teams recognising the amounts they had raised. At the end of the event the two Rotary Nominated Charities were handed payment slips of £14,614 each for their portions of the event proceeds. Representatives of the two charities Kyra Womens Project and Big Futures Foundation spoke briefly.
The evening closed with the announcement that the nominated charities for the Dragon Boat Challenge 2024 as being York Samaritans and York Rotary Charity Fund for the support of a wide range of local charities.
The 2024 Dragon Boat Challenge will be held on the 14th July and teams were reminded of the need to apply to participate in early February as the event is usually over subscribed.
For more photographs of the awards ceremony and more information about the Dragon Boat Challenge go to the Dragon Boat section of this website.
