The Stadtwerke Gießen pipe-laying team has notched up another victory. At the 2012 Dragon Boat Festival at Fühlinger See in Cologne, which took place from 22 to 24 June, the 20 men and women left the competition behind in all four heats. With a best time of the day of around one minute and three seconds, they beat the second-placed boat by more than one and a half seconds on the 250 metre sprint course in the final. The team thus confirmed its outstanding performance at this year's VGF Dragon Boat Festival in Frankfurt am Main, which the company team also won. "Fun is certainly the main focus at such events, but of course we also enter the races with sporting ambition and train for them together in our free time. We are particularly pleased with the victory in Cologne because it was our first time competing at Fühlinger See - and with a new line-up," explains team manager Oliver Lassika from Stadtwerke Gießen. Three members of the water sports club (WSV) Hellas Gießen helped out because regular members had to cancel at short notice due to illness. "We could have started with 17 paddlers. The lower limit is 16, including at least six women. But then we would have had little chance. We are therefore very grateful for the commitment of the members of WSV Hellas," emphasises Oliver Lassika.
At the city festival on 8 July in Marburg, the Rohrleger team wants to start again with the original team and defend its title from the previous year.