The small 18 women squad competed against two northern and two southern region teams and local western region member Phiz Cogswell said the conditions were not great.  

“It was absolutely shocking weather,” she said.

“We had torrential rain, it was very wet and windy. Paddling up to the start of the race we were soaked and our feet in the boat were sitting in water.”

For many of the women in the team, it was their eighth race for the day and despite winning gold last year in the state championships, Ms Cogswell said the team were not disappointed with their results. 

“We did a good time and the finish was quite close,” she said. 

Pearl Butcher has been coaching the team since it started two years ago and was also impressed with how the team performed in such challenging conditions.  

“Under the circumstances, they did very very well,” she said. 

“With just 18 people and still managing to get a bronze, well that shows huge potential. 

“It shows we’re right up there with them.”

Ms Butcher said that compared to other regional teams, the western region squad was still relatively small. 

“In the western region team we have 31 people and this is compared to the northern region who have 60, and the southern region who have over 40.

“But I think our numbers are growing and we are also getting a lot younger people which has been great.”

Last year the western region squad won gold at the national championships, making them the best female dragon boat team in Australia. 

While the western region team will have six representatives this year in the 70 person squad at nationals, Ms Butcher explained that the selection process has changed. 

“They used to take the winning teams to the national championships,” she said. 

“This year it’s a bit different. 

“The Australian Dragon Boat Federation decided to take the best of the best from each region.

“So individuals are chosen rather than teams.”

While Ms Butcher said she can see the merit in both selection processes, she found that by individually selecting the team members in February, it was hard for other members who weren’t chosen for the team. 

“There are advantages both ways,” she said. 

“The new selection process lifts the level of competition on an individual basis, but I still see advantages in the team (being selected.)

“I did feel that once the selection was made there was a little bit of challenge in trying to motivate those who weren’t selected in the team.

“They were disappointed and their enthusiasm waned a little bit. But the team did get motivated and once we got to the (state) championships everyone was very enthusiastic.”

The 2014 Australian Dragon Boat Championships will be held in Caloundra from April 15-20.