GWN Dragon Boat Challenge

Posted by Alan Sorum Aug 21, 2007

GWN (Great White North) Dragon Boat is a full-service dragon boat racing company based in Toronto, Canada. GWN sponsors a number of dragon boat events each year designed to provide team-building experiences, charity fund raising, and social interaction. Dragon boats originated in China and depend on excellent teamwork for their operation. Boats are crewed by up to twenty people, and are guided by a drummer and steering person.

Every year, GWN Dragon Boat organizes a premier dragon boat race event at Toronto's Western Beaches Watercourse at Marilyn Bell Park called the GWN Challenge. The 13th running of the race will be held on September 8th and 9th with an estimated 5,000 paddlers in participation and 20,000 spectators present for the event. Each boat crew will race twice a day, enjoying the benefit of full electronic timing and video replay equipment.

Currently 175 teams are registered to race in the GWN Challenge to raise funds and compete for many prizes. Charitable groups benefiting from the race include the Children's Wish Foundation, Canadian Living Foundation, Breakfast for Learning, Canadian Spinal Research Organization, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Variety Club, the Children's Charity and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. The GWN Challenge has raised nearly 990,000 dollars in its twelve year history for charity.

Event highlights include the Athlete's Village, live musical entertainment, Exhibitor's Village, a Beer Garden, food concessions, the kids zone, tiered spectator seating and volleyball courts. Visit the GWN Challenge website for more details on the upcoming event.