A COUPLE of Emmerdale stars were spotted enjoying the racing at the popular Dragon Boat Festival in Bradford this weekend.
The fun event was hosted on the River Aire at Roberts Park, between Friday, June 30, and Sunday, July 2, in what is the eighth festival.
A host of teams - containing 16 forward-facing paddlers, a drummer and a helmsperson - were competing to be crowned the 2023 champions.
Two keen spectators were Emmerdale duo James Hooton (Sam Dingle) and Bradley Johnson (Vinny Dingle).
In addition, there was live music and entertainment as well as stalls across the three days.
Tina Lafferty, member of the management committee for the event, said: "It has been absolutely amazing.
"This is the second one since the pandemic and it has been certainly as good as last year.
"We have had a mix of weather (wind, rain and sunshine) but the atmosphere in the park has been fantastic all weekend.
"It was a slow start on Friday because of the weather but it certainly picked up throughout the weekend.
"The traders have done really well and around 45 different teams competed over Saturday and Sunday.
"There has also been loads of money raised for charity."
A number of youth teams battled it out on the water on Friday with DCO crowned champions.
The senior winners were Trinity Titans followed by Appleton in second and Titus Sharks placed third.
Saturday saw the Lord Mayor’s Championship take place.
The grand final was won by 4 Ryorks, who narrowly beat Red Pheonix and we oar the chanpions.
On Sunday, MPM #1 (1:10.030) took home the Multi Charity Championship, edging past Epta's Emperor's (1:11.160) and Boating Belles (1:13.030).
The Bradford Dragon Boat Festival 2023 - Super Cup was picked up by Yorkshire Sharks 2 with an amazing time of 00:59.060.
A total of 45 teams competed with funds raised in aid of Bradford Hospitals’ Charity’s neonatal appeal.
Three teams from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust paddled in the special Lord Mayor’s Day. They were: Neonatal Ninjas (Neonatal Unit), Breaking Waters (Maternity), and X-Raycers (Radiology).
They raised over £2,500 between them, and you can still support the cause through their JustGiving pages at bradfordhospitalscharity.org/events/dragonboatfestival.
A spokesperson from Bradford Dragon Boat Festival added: "We are very excited that next year is the year of the dragon and wish to continue building on the festival from this year."
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