Crews
Crews must comprise 8-10 paddlers plus a drummer - squads may be larger. Crews can be mixed, all female or all male and organisations may enter more than one crew. The minimum age is 12 and no previous experience of dragon boat racing is required. All crew members must be able to swim in light clothing and in moving water and compete entirely at their own risk. 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
For 2009, Gable Events has introduced new ‘Gold’ and ‘Silver’ entry categories which give additional benefits to the ‘Standard’ entry and are designed to help companies to increase their profile at the Festival whilst raising funds for EACH:

Standard Entry - £490 + vat
Silver Entry - £1,550 + vat (standard entry plus £500 donation to EACH, company name and/or logo on each side of one of the dragon boats, presentation team photo and acknowledgment on the Festival website, in the souvenir programme and commentary)

Gold Entry - £2,000 + vat (silver entry plus crew marquee with chairs, full page advert in the souvenir programme and banner space alongside the racecourse)

For further details 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
Gable Events will be providing small marquees (3m x 3m units) with chairs for crews
Tel 01780 470718 for details and prices

Crew Merchandise
A complete selection of team clothing and merchandise, embroidered or printed with your name/logo, is available from our official clothing supplier.

Charity Sponsorship
Official sponsorship forms and Just Giving 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 entered are encouraged to raise money for the official festival charity (or a charity of their own choice). All the entry fees from standard entries go towards the costs of running the event: EACH benefits only from sponsorship raised in addition to standard entry fees, or from gold and silver entries.

Top fundraisers’ prize
The team raising the most money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices that is handed in on the day will be awarded the charity trophy and enjoy a special banquet for the whole crew kindly donated by the China Diner, 106 High Street, Lowestoft, NR32 1XW. The restaurant is open seven days a week and offers a wide selection of mouth-watering dishes and ‘all you can eat at a fixed price’. Tel: 01502 538000.

Advertising Opportunities
Souvenir programme advertising - 1/4, 1/2 and full page available.
Price and details on application. Tel 01780 470718