September sees the return of the Air Ambulance NI Dragon Boat Race on the River Lagan, with registration now open.

The exciting event will see 40 corporate teams race against each other in authentic dragon boats along the river as well as music and food across two days. Each boat holds up to 18 people taking to the water to battle it out for the best time while raising vital funds to sustain the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS). 

The local charity launched the event at the Bryson LaganSports venue located in Belfast city centre along the rivers edge with their main sponsor for the event, Diageo Ireland.

Colleen Milligan from the charity explains, “This is a fantastic team-building afternoon for corporates across NI. We’ll have a riverside DJ and BBQ, and certificates for all teams. What’s more, there are a series of trophies up for grabs including best dressed team, top fundraising team, and of course coveted title of overall winner. Our last dragon boat race in 2024 was a lot of fun and importantly raised in excess of £40,000 to fund missions to critically ill and injured patients. We have a great relationship with our event sponsor, Diageo Ireland who have been supporting Air Ambulance NI now for many years through different initiatives and we are delighted they have come on board as main sponsor of the event.”

Jill McCann, Community Projects Manager from Diageo Ireland said, “We’re thrilled to sponsor the 2025 Air Ambulance NI Dragon Boat Race and continue our support for the charity and the wider community. We look forward to being a part of the event ourselves on the day and would encourage all businesses to get a team together, register and support their local air ambulance service.  If we all do our bit, we can help sustain this service for generations to come!”

Colleen went on to say, “The event is hosted by Bryson LaganSports, a reputable events company who organise these types of events regularly. The event is now so popular that we’ve extended it across two days, and it coincides with our celebrations for Air Ambulance Week which we celebrate each September.  With the support of Diageo Ireland, we’ve been able to make it a fun and memorable day for all the teams who are taking part, it’s a perfect opportunity to get the staff together for some fun.”

Teams can choose to sign up for either Thursday 4th or Friday 5th September and for a morning or afternoon session.  Registration costs £550 per team and each team is encouraged to raise a minimum of £1500 to help Air Ambulance NI continue to provide critical pre-hospital care.  To sign your team please visit: www.airambulanceni.org/dragon-boat-race/  or for further information contact colleen.milligan@airambulanceni.org