Margaret Rota aka, Margee began coaching the Waikato Treasure Chest Dragonboat Club in 2022.
She promotes the sport of Dragonboating and Waka ama and is a champion for women in sport. She paddles and steers in both Dragonboating and Waka ama codes.
She is a longstanding committee member for WTC and WDBWAA.
She leads with kindness, fairness, compassion and a direct approach.
There simply isn’t enough words to list all her achievements and success in this sport however she is much more than that to us, she deserves recognition for her outstanding contributions to the club and the community.
Development is key for Margee as most of us had never paddled before joining WTC. She (along with her assistant Coaches) firstly taught us the basic stroke technique and then built upon this to gain performance, endurance and power. Her enthusiasm and passion for this sport is infectious.
Coaching is not simply about results, medals and victories, but more about creating an environment where everyone has the potential to achieve. This is Margee personified!
She had a plan and a vision and was humble enough to realise that to achieve the goal she needed to draw upon the combined efforts of what would be her coaching team. (Bold and Courageous leadership)
This shows her mana and standing within the DB community by having accomplished coaches and paddlers come on board to help her achieve her goal and as a consequence, our goal !
She has molded us from a hunk of clay into what might not be seen as porcelain just yet, but certainly a Temuka coffee mug.
She understands that not everyone has the same abilities and takes this into consideration and accommodates the very differing needs of the crew when planning trainings and seat placements. (Safe Fair and Inclusive)
Literally on a Dragonboat ‘Balance is Better’.
Margee leads by example. She is a dedicated, experienced and accomplished paddler within her own right and has national and international recognition and success. We are the envy of other dragon boat clubs within NZ because of what we have achieved under her tutelage in such a short space of time. She knows what it takes to perform well, whether that is training or competing. She is giving up her time so in return she expects the same from us. Margee demonstrates commitment to achieving our goals.
Her approach to coaching us has had to be adapted somewhat and this may have been challenging for Margee. However, she has shown versatility and growth in her own Coaching skill set by understanding she is coaching a novice crew. (Attitudinal Change)
She knows when to push us physically and mentally but also acknowledges when to back off thus creating mutual trust.
She is direct, she is encouraging and is genuinely excited to see us reach our potential.
If we turn up to training having had a bad day, or we need re-focussing a classic Margee quote is “Put it down the blade ladies!!!”
Our results speak for themselves.
• We have grown from under 20 paddlers to over 70.
• We have medalled at Regionals and Nationals for the first time in the clubs 20 year history.
• We achieved the fasted recorded time over 500mts in the Breast Cancer International regatta April 2023.
• 16 paddlers reaching Regional representative success at Nationals.
• We are fitter, stronger, healthier, and happier.
• It is her happy place and our happy place.
Success enhances growth and fosters a great club vibe and Kotahitanga. If you create winners and losers you lose the concept of togetherness.
Margee develops and nurtures this philosophy whole heartedly.
Margee empowers us to give our best whenever we train and compete. She instils in us a quiet confidence to just get out on the water and put into practice what she has taught us. “Trust the process”.
She is an advocate for self-belief and having the right attitude and she demonstrates this in how she paddles “ I am only short but when I get in the boat I paddle like I am 6 feet tall”
We train hard but through Margee’s guidance and encouragement we keep coming back for more. She tells us “This sport gets in your blood” and because of her we have a desire to improve and succeed, whilst knowing we are building strength and rehabilitating not only our bodies but our minds. That is life changing and it stems from Margee – Head Coach, Co-ordinator, steerer, paddler, visionary, confidant, friend, and dynamo!!!!
Everyone is treated the same irrespective of ability and experience, this is the epitome of inclusion in sport. She fosters in us a sense of pride and mana in our achievements.
As our club President says “When I get in the boat I want to ensure that my individual performance matches what Margee has given us. I paddle for myself and my crew but also for her as I understand the sacrifices she makes in order to allow me to enjoy the sport that we love”
