NEVER in Werribee resident Narelle Lloyd’s dreams did she think she would try the sport of dragon boat racing. However, after being encouraged to give it a go, one session was all it took for Lloyd to be hooked.
Three years later and the fast learner is on her way to Hungary to represent Australia at the World Championships.
After taking part in the selection camp in Canberra last year, Lloyd was left with a nervous wait while coaches picked the final team.
“I came out of the camp thinking that I had given it my best shot and if I don’t make it, at least I know that,” she said.
“It was pretty nerve racking because if you got an email the next day it meant you missed out and if you got one the day after it meant that you had made it.
“I’ve got a BlackBerry and I was on night shift at work and I kept getting emails from clients and kept thinking, oh please don’t be from the selectors.”
It wasn’t until the Christmas break-up of her Footscray-based club, the Melbourne Flames, that Lloyd was able to breathe easy.
“My coach is also the head coach of the Australian team and he basically said that the people who went to Canberra for the training camp had all made it,” Lloyd said.
“It was a bit of a shock really. It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
In the lead-up to pulling on the Green and Gold, Lloyd will take part in three training camps with her national team-mates before the World Championships kick off in late July.
With a weekly training regime that includes five gym sessions and three paddling practices, it is no surprise she has top honours in her sights.
“Talking to the girls and the coach, we are not going over there just to participate. We are going over there to win,” she said.
“That was a real point that was made during the camp. We aren’t just putting a team together to go over there. This is a team that we want to win.”
Lloyd is looking for potential sponsors to assist her with her trip. Anyone interested can contact Narelle via her email address, narelle@chasclarkson.com.au.
