BOP Flyers crew member Dave Horgan, coach Steph Mott (front) and manager Angie Lind at the Sulphur Point Dragon Boat Club. Photo / Debbie Griffiths
Bay of Plenty Dragon Boat Club is devastated after a large amount of its brand-new paddling gear was stolen over the weekend.
They were bought because the team had qualified to attend the Club Crew World Championship in Italy in September, club president Brooke Hargreaves said.
The paddles of the Bay of Plenty Dragon Flyers held a lot of mana and were unique to the team, she said.
The Dragon Boat Club and the Dragon Flyers are asking for information from anyone who might come across any of the items for sale on social media.
“A Hornet paddle bag with 20 new team racing paddles and paddling gear – along with personal items – have been stolen,” Hargreaves said.
“There was also waka gear and waka paddles and lifejackets.
“There was a set of Team Dragon boat carbon-fibre paddles that were stolen, which is useless to anybody other than dragon boaters.
“You can’t adapt them to any other sport.
“It’s labelled with a unique design and our team name, absolutely useless to anyone outside of DB paddling.
“They’re custom made and have the custom branding – the emblem of the team – of them.
“That’s the biggest annoyance. They would’ve cost at least $6000 or $7000 just for a set of paddles.
“We’re right in the middle of training. We just finished nationals a month ago. We’ve got the largest contingent going to Italy and Dragon Flyers is a portion of that.”
Another lot of stolen gear was owned by a team member who has made it into the New Zealand team, the NZ Black Dragons.
“In the gear that was stolen, there was a specific paddle for the Black Dragons. So for her to get that opportunity to be a Black Dragon and then have gear stolen, it sucks.”
The individual victims had given reports to police.
“We’re not for profit and we’re individual teams that fundraise really hard and the Dragon Flyer is one of many teams that are trying to get this money to go to Italy,” Hargreaves said.
“We’re such a close-knit community in New Zealand; we only have a few thousand paddlers nationwide.”
– If you have any information on the stolen items please contact the Bay of Plenty Dragon Boat Club via Facebook: www.facebook.com/bopdragonboating.
Herald afternoon quiz: April 30