Crews
Crews comprise up to 16 paddlers plus a drummer – squads may be larger (max 21 persons). Crews can be mixed, all female or all male and organisations may enter more than one crew. The minimum age is 16 and no previous experience of dragon boat racing is required. All crew members must be confident in cold water conditions, wearing light clothing and in moving water and compete entirely at their own risk. BDA qualified helms, buoyancy aids and water safety cover are provided by the organisers.
Rules
Gable Events is an approved operator of the British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA) and the Festival will hold a BDA Race Permit. All crews accepted for entry must abide with the competition rules and the entry details shown on this form. Each crew is guaranteed a minimum of 3 races (subject to conditions).
Entry categories and fees
‘Gold’ and ‘Silver’ entry categories give teams additional benefits to the ‘Standard’ entry and are designed to help companies increase their profile at the Festival whilst raising funds for Age UK Milton Keynes:
Standard Entry – £750 + vat
Silver Entry – £1,870 + vat inc £500 donation to Age UK Milton Keynes (standard entry plus company name and/or logo on each side of one of the dragon boats, team photo and acknowledgment on the Festival website, in the souvenir programme and commentary)
Gold Entry – £2,440 + vat inc £750 donation to Age UK Milton Keynes (silver entry plus crew marquee with chairs and half page advert in the souvenir programme)
Please note, there is a 3% surcharge if paying by credit card Tel 01780 470718
Entries
Will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. No refunds will be given once an entry has been accepted and there can be no refund if the Festival or racing has to be cancelled due to conditions outside the control of Gable Events.
Crew marquees and hospitality
3m x 3m gazebos with chairs (max one per team) and/or private catering are available. Tel 01780 470718 for details and prices. No unauthorised commercial caterers are allowed on site.
Crew clothing
A complete selection of team clothing and merchandise, embroidered or printed with your name/logo, is available from our official clothing supplier Total Clothing Tel 01733 394758
Charity sponsorship
Official sponsorship forms and Virgin Money Giving/Localgiving.com information will be supplied with your entry form and all forms giving evidence of sponsorship money raised must be handed in to Race Control before your crew’s first race. All crews are encouraged to raise money for the official Festival charity, Age UK Milton Keynes. All the entry fees from standard entries go towards the costs of running the event: Age UK Milton Keynes benefits only from sponsorship money raised in addition to standard entry fees, or from gold and silver entries.
Top fundraisers’ prize
The team giving evidence of raising the most money for Age UK Milton Keynes that is handed in on the day will be awarded the charity trophy and a voucher worth up to £350 towards a celebratory meal at Zen Garden Oriental Buffet Restaurant, 326 Midsummer Blvd, Central Milton Keynes MK9 2EA.
The highly rated Zen Garden Oriental Buffet Restaurant offers over 100 healthy Chinese, Thai and Japanese dishes using authentic recipes to excite the taste buds.
Tel 01908 668888 www.zengardenoriental.co.uk
Advertising opportunities
The Festival offers a wide range of promotional opportunities including souvenir programme advertising. For further details tel 01780 470718