When things get noisy at the tip of Flensburg harbour as colourfully decorated paddle boats cut through the water, it’s race time on the Fjord! Since last year, the Flensburg Dragon Boat Race has been back after a ten-year hiatus, and we were able to field a team for the second edition on 22 August 2026. It was no easy task: not because it was difficult to find enough motivated team members amongst us. No, rather because places in this race are extremely sought-after. The organisers, the Flensburg Schiffbrücke Lions Club and the Flensburg Leo Club, have already increased the capacity this year to an impressive 70 teams. When the starting signal sounded, 20 of the 1,400 participants were in our boat – ‘the Förderdrachen’.
Paddling for the community
After a joint training session in the week leading up to the race, the Förderdrachen managed to secure 42nd place out of 70. The team is thoroughly satisfied, as all members know what really matters: “We took part because, on the one hand, it’s for a good cause and, on the other, because we were really keen to compete in a race like this together.” This year, the proceeds will go to the Katharinen Hospiz am Park and the Speisekammer Flensburg. One thing is already clear to our ‘Förderdrachen’: “We want to sign up again for next year!”
