Record breaking success at the 26th Anniversary of the Dragon Boat Race!

CRASH continued our 30^th Anniversary celebrations at the 26th annual Construction Industry Dragon Boat Race on Thursday 21st May. On a beautiful, sun-soaked day at London’s Surrey Docks, 33 teams from companies across the construction industry competed to be the fastest on the water and raise money in support of CRASH’s vital work providing safe, dignified environments for people who are homeless and those receiving end-of-life hospice care.

A record breaking £36,779 was raised over the day and beyond from our supporters, which will directly impact and support our work and projects.

Each team put together a crew in an effort to record the fastest time and ultimately be crowned champions. There was lightning quick times, amazing teamwork and unfortunate, even one capsize but the winners were Lysander Associates, who amazingly improved on their time over each round with a winning time of 54.36 seconds!

The Top 3 teams across our categories were:

🏆 Dragon Boat Champions

1^st – Lysander Associates (Lysand-oar Asso-sea-ates), 54.36 seconds

2^nd – Redworx (Redworx Raiders), 56.95 seconds

3^rd – Jackson Civil Engineering (Jackson Dragon Force), 57.42 seconds

🚣 Mixed Crew Champions

1^st – Neilcott Construction (Dragon Our Heels)

2^nd – AECOM (AECOM Oarsome Pearls)

3^rd – Meinhardt (Meinhardt UK)

🤝 Charity Champions

Neilcott Construction once again were the top fundraisers, raising over £12,610 in sponsorship alone. They also won a CRASH Magnum of Champagne in recognition of their incredible fundraising. We are continuously grateful for Neilcott Construction’s dedication and generosity to our work here at CRASH and every year at our Dragon Boat Race. Thank you, Neilcott, for going above and beyond once again!

Special thanks also to GRAHAM Group and Parkeray for their fantastic fundraising efforts as well, all contributing to the record breaking amount!

🎭 Best Dressed Crew

Parkeray – “Team Parkeray”

Parkeray were aptly dressed in sailor striped shirts, neckerchiefs and hats, earning them the title of Best Dressed Crew and a CRASH Magnum of Champagne!

The excitement wasn’t just contained to the races and competition with the event featuring a raffle, themed outfits, punny team names and an amazing atmosphere matching the incredible weather. CRASH extends special thanks to volunteers Rachel Sprackett, Nick Kenny and Bethany Turner from Corporate Patron Beale & Co, who were invaluable in helping exceed the fundraising amounting and keeping the good vibes alive.

Thank you also to our generous raffle sponsors: Corporate Patrons AECOM and Dulux Decorator Centre. As well as a Paul Merson signed football which was our hotly contested prize!

And finally, a huge thank you as well to NewWave Events and their team who run the event. We look forward to continuing to work together in the future and making sure every year is as successful as 2026!