The sweep is the crew member who stands at the back of the boat to steer the boat and command the crew. This new accreditation enables Jo to steer the boat with a sports crew without supervision.

Dragon Boating is a water sport and as such has an element of risk associated with it. Safety is of prime importance and ensuring sweeps are properly qualified and experienced is the main strategy to reduce the risks in dragon boating.

Trainee sweeps must maintain a log book of the time spent sweeping, and undergo written and practical tests.

In addition, sweeps need to know the Maritime NSW Rules and Regulations as they apply to Dragon Boating, including the general ‘rules of the road’ for the bodies of water they train and/or race upon.

It is also recommended that sweeps have their senior first aid certificate.

Once a sweep has gained L2 accreditation they are then allowed to sweep sports crews in races at a regatta.

After four incident-free races, L2 sweeps can then progress to L3 status which gives them free rein to also command corporate, community and novice crews in events Australia wide.

Heather McMillan is currently in the process of gaining her L3 accreditation. She successfully completed two incident free races at the Western Region Regatta in Bathurst last year.

Next weekend, Heather, and twelve other club members, are heading to Jindabyne to support her in her quest to complete another two incident free races and gain her L3 accreditation. 

Allison Steele is also currently training to become a sweep, and her training is progressing well. 

With all these qualified sweeps we can be confident that dragon boating will continue in Narooma well into the future.

If you would like to have a go at Dragon Boating, pop down to the club’s boat shed (situated next to the Quarterdeck Café) on Saturdays at 8.30am.

For more information contact the club via email at Narooma.bwd@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Facebook.