Despite all intentions to bring a much-needed atmosphere of positivity to the Great Lakes and surrounding areas, the Great Lakes Pearl Dragons have been forced to cancel their annual dragon boat regatta this weekend.
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Regatta committee member Wendy Orman said they were obviously disappointed to make the decision but it was the right thing to do.
"We're gutted that it turned out that way but we understand," Ms Orman said.
"It was a good decision."
The committee met with Dragon Boat NSW northern region coordinator Geoff Roberts last night, Tuesday, November 12, to discuss the viability of running the regatta and ultimately decided to cancel it.
"We were just waiting until yesterday passed," Ms Orman said.
"The priority is the safety of all our paddlers and the people in the area."
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With numerous clubs due to travel up from Sydney, Wollongong, and the Hunter region, along with a number of clubs from around the bushfire-affected Mid North Coast, Ms Orman said there was a high likelihood that people wouldn't even be able to make it to Forster for the event.
"It's touch and go to even get out of Forster at the moment," she said.
With a lot of paddlers now preparing to trial for representative squads, Ms Orman said there was no time to postpone the event to a later date.
However, they had confirmed a date for the 2020 regatta, with the weekend of November 21 and 22 already set aside.
Ms Orman said the Pearl Dragons had also received a lot of support from clubs further south.
"Some of the clubs have contacted us because they want to donate to the fire relief, so it's wonderful to have that support," she said.
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