WORCESTER Dragon Boat Racing Club are making waves on the national scene with 15 of its members in the Great Britain squad for the forthcoming World Championships in America.

Dragon racing has its roots in China, Indonesia, Japan and as a sport is based around a 40ft long boat with ten pairs of paddlers and a drummer based at helm and a steersman in the stern.

The sport is massive in China with experts predicting that if Shanghai lands the 2008 Olympic Games then dragon boat racing could become an Olympic sport.

In Worcester the club has been running for around 11 years and continues to grow from strength to strength.

It recently held its Race the Dragon Regatta, which had 27 entries, and the club has a membership of around 90.

Members selected for GB in Philadelphia will fly out at the end of July to compete against 20 other countries, but in the meantime are busy trying to raise £1,000 each needed to compete.

Six of the Worcester team have been selected for the open team, which is the best standard, and races take place over 250m, 500m and 1,000m races.

The club meets every Thursday at the RNIB Boat House in Bromwich Parade by the New Road cricket ground.

Nigel Leigh, who has been selected for the senior open GB squad, attributes the club's growth to members' achievements on the national scene.

"We have had some success in both the previous world and European championships," said Nigel.

"Our members brought back 18 medals from the European Championships last year.

"The club has continued to grow, their success has encouraged others and this year we have really pulled out all the stops.

"As a sport it is all about timing, technique, strength and stamina."