"It’s hilarious.
"The problem is, I’m not sure that their teachers or friends actually believe them.
"Now that it’s in the paper, they might."
The University of Otago finance staff member, colleague Madi Gyde, psychology and neuroscience student Becca Beattie and Dunedin dragon boater Ngarimu Pere were recently selected as part of the 80-strong national team and will head off to the championships in Thailand tomorrow.
Mrs Slote said she was surprised to be selected, for two reasons.
"This is only my second season, so I was genuinely shocked to receive the news of my selection for the New Zealand squad.
"I’ve been joking that I only took up the sport because I was having a mid-life crisis.
"Also, dragon boating is not very well known as a sport.
"Worldwide, it’s a bit obscure, but it is actually quite big in Asia — in China, it’s massive — and it’s really big in America, Canada and European countries like Germany and Ukraine."
She had got into the sport because of her background in amateur white-water rafting, kayaking and waka ama.
"Personally, I hate running as a form of exercise.
"Paddling is great for people who want to get exercise but don’t necessarily want to be a runner.
"It’s a great sport."
The four have been selected to compete in different divisions of the event.
She said being connected to the university meant they were able to use the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences environmental chamber facilities.
"We’ve been training in 37°C with 70% humidity, which is quite a bit different to paddling in Otago Harbour at this time of year.
"It’s helping us to acclimatise to the temperatures we’ll be racing in, in Pattaya [near Bangkok].
"We’ve had a pretty intensive training regime and we’re in pretty good shape.
"There is some incredibly strong competition out there, but we’re hoping to bring home some medals.
"That would be amazing."
