About Dragon Boating
A dragon boat is a canoe-like human powered vessel with a crew of 10 or 20 paddlers, a drummer, and a steersperson. Paddlers sit side by side and paddle in unison to the cadence of the drummer to cross the finish line faster than their competition. It's a team sport in its purest form that encompasses the elements of power, speed, synchronization, and endurance.
The appeal of dragon boating is that the sport can accommodate a wide range of skill levels from novice to competitive. It’s a low-impact, full-body workout for people of any experience level, not to mention that it's lots of fun!
The appeal of dragon boating is that the sport can accommodate a wide range of skill levels from novice to competitive. It’s a low-impact, full-body workout for people of any experience level, not to mention that it's lots of fun!
Dragon Boating is a two thousand year old tradition
Dragon boat racing has been a traditional watercraft activity for over 2000 years. The dragon boats originated in Southern China. The boats where typically made of teak wood and with an asian-style dragon head attached to the bow and dragon tail on the stern with scales along the side of the boat.
In 278 BCE, Qu Yuan, a great war-time poet, drowned himself in the the Mlou river as a protest against the political corruption of the day. Upon hearing the news, villagers rushed to the river to recover his body but were unsuccessful . To deter fish from eating his body, the villagers made Zhong-zi (rice dumplings) and threw them into the river. To commemorate this sacrifice, each year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month crews of paddlers reenact effort to save Qu Yuan, The people began to organize dragon boat races in his memory.
In 278 BCE, Qu Yuan, a great war-time poet, drowned himself in the the Mlou river as a protest against the political corruption of the day. Upon hearing the news, villagers rushed to the river to recover his body but were unsuccessful . To deter fish from eating his body, the villagers made Zhong-zi (rice dumplings) and threw them into the river. To commemorate this sacrifice, each year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month crews of paddlers reenact effort to save Qu Yuan, The people began to organize dragon boat races in his memory.
Dragon Boat Racing is an international Sport
Dragon Boat racing became a modern international sport when the first hong kong international races were held in 1976. This race laid the foundation for the dragon boat races of today. Today there are nearly 50 million participants in China; over 300,000 in the UK and Europe, including Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia; 90,000 in Canada and the USA and many thousands in Australia and New Zealand and now spreading through the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific Basin.
The Story of the Dragon Boat Festival
Learn more from our partners
Pacific Dragon Boat Association USA (PDBAUSA)A west coast dragon boating resource, whose mission is to promote the sport of dragon boat racing and foster national and international dragon boat competition. They are part of the USDBF, representing the Western region of the United States.
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United States Dragon Boat FederationThe governing body for the sport of dragon boat in the United States. The mission of the USDBF is to promote the growth and development of dragon boating in the U.S. for fitness, recreation, and team building at all levels of competition.
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International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF)The IDBF is an international non-governmental, non-profit world organization for dragon boating and other paddle sport activities. IDBF seeks to promote the sport as well as to protect and maintain the Asian cultural, historical and religious traditions of Dragon Boating.
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