Canberra mum Melanie Louey gets dragon boating national team call-up with Auroras

"I only recently started dragon boating, and it was just in the last year or so that I've put myself in the position as a drummer, so being selected was not something I expected," Louey said.

"I was astounded."

From the moment the drummer began to establish herself in the dragon boating community, her peers saw her talent and urged her to try out for the Auroras.

So this year, she did, and after a gruelling selection process last month on the water in Sydney, she is in the national team along with Canberra's Zac Arton, David Cooper, Tom Wicks, and Chris Mills.

"To me the Auroras are the ultimate elite representation for the sport and I didn't think that I was quite there but to actually get through the process and to get positive feedback and then to be selected - I was in shock," Louey said.

"It's the top paddlers, sweeps and drummers from all around Australia.

"After the selection process, we all went to a camp and they reduced the squad to what it is now. At the next squad announcement in October they will confirm the final squad to go over to Hong Kong for a tournament there."

Louey is not expected to be cut from that squad though.

As a drummer she is in a highly-valued role, maintaining the paddlers' rhythm, motivating the crew and led by the sweep she screams calls to guide them over the finish line in the fastest time possible.

"They usually say that the drummer is like the heartbeat of the crew," Louey said.

"They can tell when I get more aggressive or can hear urgency in my voice and then they take my cue as to what they need to do.

"They were looking at taking three sweeps, three drummers and 50-something paddlers by the time I get to Hong Kong."

During the selection process Louey was thrown in the deep end being put with a crew she hadn't worked with before.

That situation was made more complicated by the different dragon boating styles between the states, but she was still able to impress.

"Between Canberra, and NSW and Victoria for instance, we all call things differently," she said. "I had to try and think quickly on my feet.

"As the drummer I have to keep in time with the two people in the front because they set the pace. I listen to them or a captain in the boat that tells me what they need.

"It's a bit like a motivational speaker. You're trying to be loud and then tactically try and look side to side when you can to see what the competition is doing.

"I definitely didn't know if I had it in the bag or not."

Louey is the only female of the ACT selections, and cheered on by her children is hoping to make a splash on the world stage.

"My kids are super excited," she said.

"I've never been a sports person so for me to actually say I love dragon boating is big.

"I find it very meditative. If you have a bad day, you just hit the water, and tune out."

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