Staff from Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust will be competing in the annual Bradford Dragon Boat Festival. Teams will once again congregate at Roberts Park on Sunday 3 July 2022 to race the dragon, in day three of the annual Bradford Dragon Boat Festival.

The Trust staff teams, ‘The Saltaire Swans’, ‘The Saltaire Cygnets’ and ‘The Saltaire Goosy Ganders’ will be competing against 45 other teams in the multi charity championship. The Trust will be raising money for its own charity Better Lives, which uses donations to support a wide variety of additional activities to support patients and carers.

The funds raised by the charity goes towards, music therapy for the Trust’s dementia assessment unit, an outside seating area for young people and their families who are accessing mental health services, and an allotment for adults accessing mental health services in the community.

A dragon boat team is made up of 16 paddlers and a drummer. The race is over a course of 200 meters, with the start just beyond the cricket pavilion and the finish in front of the crowds in Roberts Park. Each team will have a minimum three timed races, where their single fastest time only will count for grand final qualification.

Paul Hogg, Director of Corporate Affairs, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, raising the much-needed funds for our NHS Better Lives Charity.

The festival is a great opportunity to get together, celebrate what’s good about Bradford and have some fun through physical activity. Our staff are very excited to be competing having missed out in the last few years. This spectacular three-day festival can bring out the best in people, foster teambuilding and enhancing wellbeing, it’s a great atmosphere for everyone, paddlers and spectators alike. Also, a big thank you to our corporate sponsor P.E.C Contractors, who are also paddling for the charity. I know plenty of staff from both organisations will be attending the festival right next door to our headquarters in New Mill, to cheer everyone on.”

Along with the dragon boat racing, there will also be ethnic and international food vendors each serving their diverse range of foods, drinks outlets, market stalls and a whole host of traders, some of which will have travelled from overseas just to be at this festival.

There is still room for more participants, if anyone is interested in paddling for the charity, please email betterlivescharity@bdct.nhs.uk. For more information, please see the events website: https://www.bradforddragonboatfestival.co.uk/