What is Dragon Boat Racing?

Dragon boat racing originated in China over 2000 years ago, however it became a modern international sport in Hong Kong in 1976. While the original dragon boats were made from teak, modern boats are made from fibreglass and are brightly painted. During regattas and festivals, the bow and stern are decorated with a dragon's head and tail to reflect the sport's Chinese origins. 

Each 40-foot boat holds up to 20 paddlers sitting side-by-side. The front two paddlers are known as 'strokes', and they control the rate of the boat while the rest of the crew follows. A sweep is positioned at the stern, and is responsible for steering the boat and calling the paddlers; the sweep is always in charge of the boat, and needs to pass various testing and training in order to be in this position. During races, a drummer sits at the bow and beats a large drum in timewith the strokes, while motivating the paddlers. 

The standard race distance is 500 metres, however some regattas offer shorter sprints of 200 metres, as well as endurance races of up to 6 kilometres. Each club enters regattas throughout the year in order to qualify for the inaugural 200 metre sprint held at Darling Harbour during Chinese New Year festivities. This is an exciting event, full of sweeps shouting, drummers drumming, and a myriad of colour, making it an extremely impressive sport to both watch and compete in.   

A bit of history...

Traditional dragon boat festivals in China occur on the fifth day of the fifth moon each year. This is to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who drowned himself during the third century BC in protest of a corrupt government. Each year, the fishermen’s attempts to save the poet are re-enacted in the form of dragon boat races.

All around the world, people have embraced the water sport and formed clubs in their own countries, hosting regattas and festivals, of which many members of Easts have been a part of.