Kempsey's Sam Fowler off to Thailand for World Dragon Boat Championships

Sam, who was named the Junior Division Sweep in February this year, will be leaving Australia on Thursday (August 3) to compete in the world championships from August 7-13.

Sam started his dragon boat journey a few years ago when he was encouraged by his mum Belinda, who is the Kempsey Macleay Dragon Boat Club secretary, to hop in the boat and have a paddle.

"It's such a great sport, there aren't many where you can train and compete side by side with your own kids like dragon boat, and it's so nice to be able to spend the time together," Belinda said.

Sam started out paddling and quickly showed his potential in the sport, competing with the River Rats locally, and also in the regional crew at NSW Regional Championships.

Sam was then selected as a paddler in the Northern Region State Crew to compete at Australian National Championships in 2022 which were held in Adelaide. In 2023, he was selected as a paddler to compete at Nationals in Albury-Wodonga with the NSW Junior Crew.

Along the way, Sam discovered a passion for sweeping.

"I think he really likes being in charge," Belinda said. "But, actually he is very talented and truly skilled in this role.

"The Dragon Boat sweep has an enormous responsibility on the back of the boat, he needs to have the trust of his crew.

"He needs to confidently and skilfully manoeuvre the boat through the water, particularly tricky on long distance turn races.

"He needs to call his crew up to execute the race plan, instructing them what to do and when. He is ultimately responsible for the safety of everyone in that boat. So, it's a big job really."

At the beginning of 2023, Sam headed off on his own to Canberra to trial as a sweep for the Australian National Dragon Boat team, the Auroras, along with a lot of hopefuls from all over Australia.

"I was so nervous for him, but he really impressed the selection team," Belinda said.

The junior division coach Jason Han said he was impressed with Sam's talent "straight away".

"When I first saw Sam sweep at selection camp, I knew straight away he was skilled beyond his age," he said.

"His confidence and boat control with a sweep oar in hand is spot on."

The National Team was named at the end of February this year and it included Sam Fowler as Junior Division Sweep.

Sam continued with the state team until April when the Nationals were held. At the same time, he was getting in as much racing as a sweep that he could. Once Nationals were over, Aurora training began.

Since the end of April, Sam has travelled to Sydney each Wednesday staying with a fellow Aurora family until returning home each Sunday.

This has allowed him to be able to train all the Aurora sessions with the majority of the crew who are based in Sydney. Kempsey High School has provided distance learning for Sam to accommodate his training schedule.

A few weekend camps have also been held where the whole crew from all over Australia come together for training and team bonding.

Sam's integration into the team, as well as his hard work and commitment, has been recognised by his fellow teammates, and he was recently elected as one of the junior team captains.

Sam continues to train alongside his team, a combination of on water practice and on land gym, ERG and beep testing.

"We are now counting down the sleeps until we fly out next Thursday," Belinda said.

The championships will race various distances over six days, with the Auroras up against elite national crews, specially selected from all over the world.

"It's going to be a tough time, but they will be having the experience of a lifetime," Belinda said. "No matter what happens in Thailand, we are all just so proud of Sam and his entire crew.

"They have trained so hard leading up to this event. They are one, they are elite, and they are ready.

"We know they will do their best, and just by doing that they will do us and all of Australia proud."

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