The great Dragon Boat Race done the Mission Systems way
13 Jul 23
Mission SystemsCharityBlog
BY Russ Windle
On Saturday 8th July a determined team from Mission Systems took part in a charity Dragon Boat Race in aid of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice - a fantastic organisation that provides respite care and support for children and their families across Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
In a true display of team spirit, they came second place (narrowly missing out on the top spot by less than half a second) and achieved their main goal to raise as much money as possible for a worthy cause. ‘Team Captain’ Russ Windle shares the highlights of the day!
Proud in orange: Team Mission Systems
Race Day
0800: Lewis Walker and I arrived at the lake, full of anticipation (and a Maccies breakfast) and ready to set up base camp for Team Inzpire.
0900-0930: The rest of team arrived full of excitement. We introduced ourselves to our neighbours who also happened to be our competition for the first heat. Sandwiched between Volker Rail and Wathletico Ladies Football team, a bit of friendly banter was exchanged, and battle lines drawn.
Our dragon boat - the magestic 'Yorkshire Lass'
0945: After a safety brief we were all fully raring to go and jump in the boat to get the first heat started. Our vessel was a majestic dragon boat named “Yorkshire Lass” and our nominated skipper (drummer) for the first race was Mr Jonny Smith.
1000: Heat 1 and despite our obvious inexperience, our enthusiasm and sheer determination saw us finish in a time of 67 seconds, as WINNERS of the heat.
1020: Monsoon conditions stopped play; Heat 2 was called to a halt to allow the raging thunderstorm to pass.
1130: Racing restarted and by the end of the first heat Team Inzpire were sitting in 5th place out of 21 entries.
Team Inzpire row with all their might
Timings all became a blur at this point, so I’ll just concentrate on the events.
Heat 2 for Team Inzpire and we had a change of plan, Emily Bolton took control and skippered the boat, beating the drum with such venom she caused herself an injury. We had a wobble during the heat (losing time during the middle part of the race) but still managed to improve our time by a whole three seconds, finishing the second heat as the 5th fastest team once again. So, on to the semi-final we went.
The semi-final saw us pitched against a team from a CrossFit gym (their reserve team) who had beaten us in the previous heat. After a couple of changes to the boat formation, and with Emily still beating the drum, we managed to knock another couple of seconds off our best time and gain revenge for the previous defeat, crossing the line as winners of the 3rd semi-final.
After a tense wait our semi-final time was confirmed as being in the top three - we had a place in the final!!!
Knocking another couple of seconds off their best time, Inzpire reach the final
The final began to the sounds of the Hawaii 5-0 theme tune and screams of ROW, ROW, ROW from within the boat. With the pace being set by Dom and Flo up the front, and Emily again banging the drum, we faced the reigning champions (CrossFit gym’s first team) and the local favourites (the Dearne Valley Dragons). The race finished with no clear winner, and a tense wait followed for confirmation of the result.
At the presentation ceremony, it was announced that we had finished in second place. The margin of defeat was so tiny – only 0.47 seconds - that the organisers said they would not have been able to split the two teams had they not had camera technology on the finish line!
Getting the excuses in now, the CrossFit team clearly started a good dragons head in front of us and had 45 minutes rest between their semi-final and the final, compared to our 15 minutes. One more metre and we would have had them on the line.
The team narrowly miss the top spot by less than half a second
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day despite the weather and a magnificent event organised by Bluebell Wood, with lots of money raised for the hospice. They estimated over £20,000 was raised by the event, and Inzpire won the prize for most money raised by a single team, thanks to our fundraising efforts. At the time of the presentation, this amount stood at £4,800 and has since surpassed £5,000.
The money raised means so much to so many families, including mine. The support that Bluebell Wood offers to young children, adults and families is invaluable, so may I say a very personal thank you to each and every person that has supported me in this event. And special mention to the guys in Mission Systems for providing the paddle power required to achieve such a fantastic result. We will win next year!!!!!
The link is still open, and anyone wishing to add to the already amazing amount raised, can do so here: https://bluebellwoodchildrenshospice.enthuse.com/pf/teaminzpire.
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