The origins of Sydney Tsunami begin in the early 90's when we initially competed under the banner of our major sponsor Barclays, and subsequently BZW and Barclays Global Investors.
The club was formed in October 1992 by three Barclay's staff members, who had previously paddled with another Sydney dragon boat club. After a shaky start to our first season the club was able to record a 4th place in the corporate championship of the Sydney Dragon Boat Festival at Darling Harbour.
By the end of the 1993/94 season, the team had won the Lord Mayors Trophy for the corporate division at the Sydney Dragon Boat Festival and was placed second at the Australian championships held in Canberra.
In 1994/95 the Club entered two mixed teams in the Lord Mayors Trophy at the Sydney Dragon Boat Festival and these teams finished 1st and 3rd. At the same festival, our women's crew won the Australian women's championship.
Having won the corporate division title twice, in 1995/96 the club moved up to compete in the highly competitive sports division.
One of the many highlights during this time was when, under the guidance of the sports crew, the corporate team from Barclays Global Investors won the Lord Mayor's Trophy in 1998 - to make us the only club to have its name on the Lord Mayors Trophy three times.
Since then, the club has competed successfully locally, interstate and internationally. In 1998/99 Sydney Tsunami was officially formed with new uniforms and a new crew, combining experience with enthusiasm. The club continues to compete in the mixed, open, and women's divisions.
In the 2005/06 season, Sydney Tsunami was voted Club of the Year by our peers, which reflects Tsunami's dedication to giving back to the sport through volunteering.
In 2005, the crew travelled to The Philippines to compete, and followed this with a successful trip to Penang in 2006.
Tsunami has fielded crews at State and National level since its formation. The 2012 AusDBF Nationals in Melbourne was a landmark event for the club. For the first time we made several finals across Premier and Masters categories with our Masters and Premier Mens' 10s both bringing home Bronze medals, our first ever Nationals bling!
In April 2012 members of the team again competed at the PDBF sanctioned event held on the island of Boracay, in the Philippines, to defend the Gold Medals they won in 2011. After the State Titles in 2012 we were name Club of ther Year yet again.
In 2015 we went to Perth and qualified for the World Club Championships in six different categories. So in 2016 we competed in our first ‘Worlds’. And then we qualified again in 2017. We are now rebuilding after the COVID years and looking forward to introducing new paddlers to the world of Dragonboats.
Tsunami aims to continue to compete at a high level, promote good sportsmanship, aid in the development of the sport of dragon boating, and follow to our motto - "Serious Fun".
BEWARE THE RED AND BLACK!