By Jonathan Leask  March 25 2010

The drums of the dragon boats will again stir up the creatures of the deep at Lake Hood this weekend.

Around 600 competitors as well as spectators and support crews will arrive in Ashburton on Friday night ahead of the New Zealand Dragon Boat National Championships that will be held at Lake Hood for the first time.

It will only be the third time that a dragon boat regatta has been hosted locally, but already the lake has gained the reputation of being a world class venue for the sport.

"Lake Hood is a terrific venue, it's considered a world class venue for dragon boats," spokeswomen Meri Gibson said.

To host the nationals after just two regattas is quite a compliment for the lake, and if all goes well it could be a possibility to host the world championships.

Saturday is the senior championships with the Champion of Champions set to be found.

Starting at 10.30 am, 24 crews will begin to race over four rounds for a place in the final and a chance to be crowned national champion.

Then on Sunday the competition switches to the National Secondary School competition where 12 schools will fight it out for national supremacy.

The entry numbers are down this year due to a clash between the watercraft championships as the Maadi Cup rowing and Waka Ama Nationals also on this week.

Dragon boating sees a crew of 22 power the boats with paddles down the 500m course.

The 12.5 metre long boats are about 1.16m at their widest and weigh between 250 and 300kg.

They have ten seats for the paddlers, one for the caller at the front, and the sweep stands at the stern.

The caller keeps the paddlers in time with the beat of a drum and the sweep has the job of steering the boat.