Record numbers for Paddle in Paradise dragon boat race
A record-breaking number of paddlers were out on Octagon Pond Saturday for the annual Paddle in Paradise Festival.
This year, teams from central Newfoundland travelled to Paradise to take part in the fifth annual race to support breast cancer survivors.
Festival chair Marie Hickey says 32 teams, consisting of 22 paddlers per boat, signed up to compete in the event.
First place went to the Mighty Municipal Dragons, the team representing the Town of Paradise.
Meanwhile, Rock Island Dragons and the Body Quest Health Warriors of Hope took home second and third place, respectively.
"It's amazing really because we haven't done a whole lot of promotion," said Hickey.
"It's mostly word of mouth and our own team members reaching out to different companies so the response we've had from the community has been just amazing."
"It's been proven that exercise is very beneficial to breast cancer survivors both for cancer prevention and for lymphedema," she said.
"So that's why it was initially started up and the membership has grown steadily over the past nine years since they started."
Team Pennecon was awarded for raising the most funds, while Premier Paul Davis presented organizers with a $15,000 donation to go towards buying a new dragon boat.
Check out the video player for highlights of Saturday's event.
With files from Jeremy Eaton