Lots of splashing, an electric atmosphere, and an incredible amount of money raised for charity – it can only be Bradford Dragon Boat Festival!

This year, Howard Civil Engineering competed for the first time ever with the hope of raising money and awareness for Bradford Hospitals’ Charity’s Rays a Smile campaign.

Along with 38 other teams, we took to the waters of Roberts Park, Saltaire, on Sunday 23^rd June, and didn’t do too shabbily if we do say so ourselves! We massively improved our row time throughout the day from 1:19:94 to a respectable 1:14:03, leaving us in 13th place overall.

Most importantly, we managed to raise a whopping £2,770 for Rays a Smile – that’s more than any other team racing for Bradford Hospitals Charity on Sunday! We couldn’t have done it without the support of our fantastic sponsors (below), and we’d like to thank everyone very much for their generous donations. 

The Rays a Smile campaign aims to raise £250,000 to transform the radiology departments at Bradford Teaching Hospitals into warm and welcoming spaces for children.

We hope to continue engaging with communities in Bradford as we progress with our roadworks on Hard Ings Road and Beechcliffe Roundabout for Bradford Council.  

The scheme for the Hard Ings Road is being developed by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC). The scheme has received investment through the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund as part of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal - a £1 billion package of government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.

Did you miss the boat? Don't worry, there's still time to donate here!