Meet Moruya's family of dragon boat paddlers training and competing together

Bev Clark, her daughter Sharon Gmur and Sharon's three sons Toby, Jordan and Josh all paddle together with Moruya's Nature Coast Dragon Boat Club.

Bev joined Nature Coast Dragon Boat Club in Moruya in 2007 after being asked to try the sport by a friend. She did, and was immediately captivated.

"The first evening paddle I went out the water was like glass and the sun was setting over the Moruya mountains and I just thought 'how good is this?'" she said.

"It was a challenge, it was exercise, it was company. I was hooked."

She's paddled with the club twice a week ever since, and competed in regattas across the region: Jindabyne, the Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra and Nowra. In 2010, she competed in Adelaide with the regional team.

Bev loved the sport so much, she got her daughter involved.

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"I love the river and being out on the river," Ms Gmur said. She started eight years ago after watching her mother enthusiastically take to paddling.

In turn, Toby, then shortly after Jordan, then youngest brother Josh, all picked up the paddle to join their mother and grandmother in the boat.

"It's so special being on the boat together as a family," Ms Gmur said. "I feel quite lucky we are in a team.

"It means we spent more time together as a family."

She and Jordan were in the same boat competing for the state team in the Australian Championships in April 2022. Together, they both won gold.

"It was so great to be able to share that together," Ms Gmur said.