I caught up with Rachel Barlow from NE1 to tell us about their annual Dragon Boat Race across the river Tyne and how you can get involved in 2025’s race to raise charity for fantastic causes.
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00:00Anyone's Dragon Boat Race is a super exciting event which we hold every September which allows boats to go on the rotor and race up and down from the Time Bridge right the way up to the Millennium Bridge.
00:11Last year we had over 600 people who competed in the boats, so the boats for those that haven't seen it before, it's between 11 to 16 paddlers with an all-important drummer at the front to keep them in time.
00:22And it is races throughout the day to win the coveted trifle of Dragon Boat Race winner for what will be 2025.
00:29We have lots of teams that return year on year but there's always opportunities for new teams to get involved.
00:34So the best way to do so is go to anyonesdragonboatrace.com and on there you will find out all the information that you need about how you sign up and everything in between.
00:43We're really pleased to announce that this year we'll be raising vital funds for the Great North Children Hospital which is based in the RVI.
00:50We try to keep a lot of the donations within city businesses and obviously the charities that operate within them.
00:55So really pleased to have them on board this year which will be fantastic.
00:58Last year over £20,000 was raised for Newcastle Hospitals charity so we're hoping to do an equal sum if not even better this year.
01:05The Dragon Boat Race is such an adrenaline-fuelled event. It's so fantastic that there's no surprise year on year people are signing up so fast.
01:13Even on the day of the races they haven't finished racing and are signing up for next year.
01:17But boats are limited and we are expecting them to go incredibly fast this year.
01:21So whether you're wanting to get involved with a group of friends or colleagues from work, it's just a fantastic day to come out.
01:27Have a load of fun on what is a bucket list item really to sail down the Tyne and do so raising some incredible funds for brilliant charities.
01:37There's loads of people to get involved with on the land.
01:40Last year on the Saturday over 10,000 people came out to enjoy spectating and cheering boats on from the side.
01:46We have activities on, whether it's crafting, we had the Lion Dance to really start and kick off the event by the Kung Fu Club.
01:53So it's a really brilliant atmosphere filled with music, live entertainment. It's just a fantastic day all round.