Medway Sunlight Rotary Club Dragon Boat challenge

This is the ‘flagship’ charity event for Medway Sunlight Rotary Club and is enjoyed by both participants and onlookers – a great spectacle.

It is held on the Whitsun Bank Holiday Sunday in May and races are run throughout the day over a short course of 250 metres in Basin 2 at Chatham Maritime.

Each Dragon boat is forty foot long and accommodates a maximum crew of 20 (16 “volunteers” to paddle the boat plus a drummer to beat out the rhythm for everyone to paddle and three reserves).  Teams seek sponsorship for their efforts in aid of charities and can nominate 50% to a charity of their choice.  To get a taste of the event watch a video clip here.

This event is the highlight of the 3-day Chatham Maritime Food & Drink event that is now held annually.  In 2019 there was a close finish between the top six fastest teams which contributed over £13,000 raised for charity. The aim for 2020 is to beat that target.  If you are interested in getting a team together to participate then email:  or call Bill Parkinson on 07813 334683.

Entry fee and sponsorship:  You are only charged what it takes to run the event – £400 to enter a team (£20 a head for a team of 20) for a fun day out with family, friends or work colleagues.  Each team is asked to raise a minimum of £250 in sponsorship or through the sale of the Dragon Draw tickets.

All the money raised by the event goes to Rotary supported charities including the Rotary Children’s Hospice Holidays sending children with life-threatening conditions from Ellenor and other Children’s Hospices to create life long memories with their families at EuroDisney.

Due to the popularity of this event there is a maximum of 30 teams participating.