A charity Dragon Boat racing event on the River Thames has raised more than £7,500 for Momentum Children's Charity.

The annual event organised by Kingston Rotary Club took place at Canbury Gardens, Kingston upon Thames, and saw 54 teams compete in 250-metre races throughout the day. Participants were encouraged to wear fancy dress for the races, with a fun fair and plenty of refreshments ensuring a great day was had by everyone.

Momentum was the official beneficiary charity of this year's event, with five teams of 13-17 people competing specifically for the Molesey-based organisation that supports families affected by cancer and other life-challenging conditions.

Dragon Boating sees teams competing in canoe-like vessels fitted with ornately carved dragon's heads and tails. Each boat has a drummer beating time to keep the paddlers in unison, and a professional helmsperson in the stern to guide the boat.

Maddy Chant took part in the Dragon Boat Challenge as part of the team from Kingston-based Data Management and Analytics company, Jarmany. She said: "Taking part in the Dragon Boat challenge was so much fun – there was great camaraderie between teams, a good level of competitiveness, and it was a brilliant day out with colleagues. You don't need to practice or to be super-fit, it is a very inclusive event."

Talking about supporting Momentum, Maddy Chant said: "I've known about Momentum for years. My friend Kiera Brown and her family were supported by the charity when she was being treated for cancer. Kiera very sadly lost her battle with cancer in 2007, but I have such fantastic memories of her – she was funny, caring and very intelligent. We met at Primary School, and our group of friends still meets every year on Kiera's birthday and come rain or shine, we volunteer at the annual Valentine's Day collection organised by her parents, Ann and Jeff.

Jarmany has been supporting Momentum for the last five years. As well as taking part in the Dragon Boat Race, each year, we do our own Bake-Off event, run 5Ks, and volunteer for the charity. We are a local company supporting a local charity and that means a lot."

Bianca Effemey, Founder and CEO of Momentum Children's Charity said: "What a fantastic day for Momentum and everyone who was part of the Dragon Boat Challenge. This is such an enjoyable event requiring no training, just a sense of team spirit, healthy competition and good fun! Huge thanks to everyone who took time out of their weekends to be there to help raise vital funds and awareness for our charity. I feel very grateful that we have such a strong community of local businesses and individuals supporting us, not just at the Dragon Boat event, but all year-round. It is thanks to each and every one of them that we are able to continue delivering our services to families with seriously ill children."

Momentum Children's Charity supports families across South-West London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition. The charity partners with local hospitals to offer personally tailored support to the entire family through our family support workers, both in hospital and at home.

To find out more about fundraising for Momentum Children's Charity, visit www.momentumcharity.org