We're Live - Welcome to Paddles Ready
Dougie and Hando here. We finally built the website. Here's what we're doing, why we're doing it, and what's coming next.
Alright, we did it.
Nick here. Dougie and I have been talking about building this website for about two years. Two years of “we should really get a proper site up” followed by two years of being too busy calling races, editing highlight reels, and arguing about whether a crew’s timing was actually off or if I was imagining it (I wasn’t).
But here we are. paddlesready.com is live.
Who We Are (In Case You Just Found Us)
We’re Dougie Grevett and Nick Hando - the commentary duo behind Paddles Ready. If you’ve watched a dragon boat livestream in the last couple of years and heard two blokes losing their minds over a 200m sprint, that was probably us.
We’ve been calling races together since Dougie wandered into my commentary box at the Australian Nationals and never left. Two ex-racers who couldn’t quit the sport, so we found another way to stay in it. Since then, we’ve been covering events across Australia and beyond.
What You’ll Find Here
- Event coverage - Our upcoming calendar, plus recaps and highlights from past events we’ve called.
- Blog - Behind-the-scenes from the commentary box, race breakdowns, hot takes, crew spotlights, and the occasional strong opinion about race formats.
- Merch - Yeah, we sell t-shirts. And hoodies. And caps. Don’t judge us - the designs are good and it helps fund us getting to more events.
Why We Do This
Dougie here. I’ve been paddling for as long as I can remember. Dragon boating is one of the most exciting team sports on the planet - but for the longest time, nobody outside the community knew it existed.
Nick and I want to change that. Every time we call a race, we’re trying to make someone at home feel what it’s like to be in that boat when the timing locks in and the whole crew moves as one. That moment is magic. And it deserves to be seen.
What’s Next
2026 is shaping up to be our biggest year yet. We’ve got the Melbourne Dragon Boat Festival, the Gold Coast Challenge, and the big one - the ICF World Championships in Szeged, Hungary. We’ll be there for all of it.
Follow us on socials, subscribe to the blog, and grab some merch while you’re here.
Paddles up. Let’s go.
- Dougie & Hando