Three members of the Sapphire Water Dragons (SWD) and two from the Zen Dragon Boat Club  will represent Australia at the World Championships in Wellham, Canada. 

Chris Cheung was already named in the premier age group for 24-40 year olds. 

Meanwhile, for fellow SWD members Liz Shaw and Charles Helmore and Zen’s Kerri Freeman and Lynne Richardson, it was an arduous selection process to make the over 60s team in December. 

Shaw, 69, said she was blown away by the selection. 

“It was just surreal, it was unbelievable - I had to read the email twice,” Shaw said. 

“It took about a week before it actually sunk in that I was actually going to do it.”

Meanwhile, Richardson had been selected previously and this time around pushed her best friend Freeman to join in the trials. 

Richardson said she and Freeman were in the car together travelling home from the event when they got the e-mail. 

“We were in the car together when the e-mail came through ... it was a pretty special moment,” Richardson said. 

Freeman said she was tense as the e-mail appeared.

“My heart skipped a beat -  I could not look at the email,” Freeman said.   

“I said to Lynne ‘it's here and she nearly ran off the road.”

The pair kept reading their e-mail over and over and said they “screamed like girls” when the word “accepted” came up. 

For Richardson it is selection number two, but for Freeman it’s a way of carrying on a green and gold legacy. 

“My son has represented Australia in Oztag so I am happy to carry on the green and gold in the family,” she said. 

Shaw said the ability to represent Australia is something she never thought she would achieve. 

“You think ‘wouldn’t it be great to represent your country in something?’,” Shaw said. 

“At my age I didn’t think I would get that chance, but I love dragon boating and I have a passion for it.

“I have always wanted to go to Canada so I thought ‘I just have to go for it’ ... it’s a double whammy for me.”

For Helmore the opportunity to compete in age groups was one of the benefits for the sport. 

“Wearing the green and gold – to reach that level is probably the only opportunity a lot of us will have to get there,” Helmore said. 

“It is one of the sports where you can reach that level in your particular age group.”

The initial test was held back in April and pitted the paddlers against a number of cardio and weights drills. 

“You have to prove yourself to be strong physically and mentally,” Shaw said. 

Each of the group prepared themselves and continued to train ahead of the three-day camp, which ran in December. 

The local four were up against 80 competitors from around Australia. 

The paddlers then travelled to Melbourne to take on the three-day trial process. 

Helmore was doubly shocked to be selected after a back injury meant he only took part in one day of the trial. 

“I only did one day of the three day trial, when I heard a few days later I was quite surprised,” Helmore said. 

The challenge now for the paddlers is to keep top level fitness ahead of the championships. 

“[The selection] makes you think differently, it pushes you beyond your limits,” Shaw said of her new found enthusiasm for training. 

For Freeman she said doing it alongside Richardson makes things easier. 

“It is great we are both doing it this campaign as it would have been hard to do it alone,” Freeman said.   

“I am very lucky to have a friend who is there to push you along when things get a bit hard.

“I remember one day we both arrived at the gym feeling exhausted and just wanted to go and have a coffee but we motivated each other and we both got going and did our best workout.”

Helmore said regular club events and trips to the gym will keep everyone in peak performance. 

“We had to reach a certain standard to get to the trials and now we have to step up again,” Helmore said. 

“We trained hard over winter to reach that goal under the guidance of Chris [Cheung].”

The honour of donning the green and gold is the achievement of a “lifetime dream” Freeman said, but for the five competitors, the chance of travel is an added bonus.