Nicole Guala’s Water Sports Activities
As we continue to look at what wellness means, in all its forms, we turn the spotlight on our own Principal Consultant in Victoria, Nicole Guala. When she’s not peddling the skills and talents of candidates, you can find her on the water, paddling a dragon boat.
Dragon boating is described on one online resource (yes, I had to look it up) as “a fast and furious, paddle driven water sport that originated in China over 2000 years ago.” When I think of wellness pursuits, the only fast and furious I tend to partake in involves a far too protracted movie franchise, a couch and a bowl of salty snacks, so I am all at once ashamed and intrigued.
I wanted to know more about how this adrenaline-filled water sport became a leisure pursuit for Nicole and why it is part of her wellness routine.
Nicole got into dragon boating because she knew a few people who had done it and it looked like a lot of fun. Regularly catching sight of a crew on a nearby river on Saturdays, the vibe was giving lots of enjoyment. After attending a ‘come and try session,’ she was hooked. Watching men and women 20-30 years her senior smash out a training session like it was nothing was pretty inspiring. Thinking she was fairly fit when she started, Nicole learned there is a big difference between being gym fit and paddle fit!
This was back in February 2019. Since then, Nicole has represented her club at lots of regattas including the Victorian Championships and the Australian Championships. She has represented Victoria twice, and Australia at the Asian Championships in 2022 and World Championships in 2023.
Nicole paddles with a club, the Peninsula Dragonflys, based in Carrum, Victoria. They set their paddles in the Patterson River and when the conditions are right, head out on to Port Philip Bay.
So, we know it’s fast, we hear it’s furious, but what actually is dragon boating?
In essence, you have big canoe (it fits 20 paddlers over 10 rows) with a drummer on the front and a sweep (steerer) at the back. In races, boats have a dragon head and tail, however not during training. Everyone has to be doing the same movement at the same time to make the boat move through the water effectively. If one person is out of time, you can feel the misalignment and the boat doesn’t run as smoothly.
Nicole trains twice a week in winter and 3 times a week in spring/summer and most of autumn. Racing season is from September to April each year.
By Nicole’s own admission, she was not naturally gifted with hand-eye coordination, and never really participated actively in a lot of sport growing up (as an 80’s kid, there weren’t too many choices). To find a sport that has a great team environment and to able to really push herself and represent at an elite level has been really fulfilling. Being out on the water adds a whole other element – there really is something special about being on the bay.
Nicole would recommend dragon boating to anyone for many reasons, but mainly because it’s a true team sport. There is no one person that makes the boat go faster – you don’t have a ‘star’. Everyone must work together to make the boat move as fast as possible. You can paddle for fun and socialising as well as exercise. Being out on the water is also very energising. And if you are lucky, you might even get to share your play space with some ocean residents and spy some dolphins or seals, which is extra special.
