When Wills Transfer received the invitation from the RIDEAU PADDLEFEST organizers to compete in this year’s Dragon Boat races, we rallied to the challenge with a warrior spirit sending the word out to all our branches to join forces and put together a ‘STRONG MAN/WOMAN’ squadron of paddlers.
The races were held on June 1, 2019 at Lower Reach Park in Smiths Falls with six teams fighting for bragging rights and the coveted paddle trophy.
With our key stroke paddler Brody Rawding and our metaphorical drummer Jordi Wills we set out to test our crew the Wills Warriors in race one against Team Canopy. With synced paddles and our enthusiastic drummer, we won the heat against those mighty opponents by 10.32 seconds. 
Race two we were paired against the Town of Perth; with a strong rally cry, focused strokes and our warrior spirit we crossed the finish line 2.99 seconds ahead of those challengers.
The final race was against the Reach Combers and what a battle it was! Out of the gate we took a strong lead, but around the 100-metre mark our engine room paddlers lost their stroke sync allowing the Reach Combers to rapidly gain on our boat. The final metres had the crowds cheering for both competitors but in the end, it was the Wills Warriors who crossed the finish line with a tight 1.47 second lead and the bragging rights to the tittle of 2019 RIDEAU PADDLEFEST CHAMPIONS. 
