Important links 

IDBF- The International Dragon Boat Federation is an international non-governmental, non-profit world organization for dragon boating and other paddle sport activities. 

AusDBF - Australian Dragon Boat Federation Ltd-The peak body of dragonbating, representing Australia on the international stage.  Check out the website to learn more about Dragonboating  programs and policies around Australia. 

DBQ- Dragonboating QLD is the state governing body for dragon boating in Queensland -   visit our website to learn about our sport in QLD.

The origins of Dragon Boating

Modern day dragon boating is a truly competitive sport with teams competing up to World Championship level. Over 50 million paddlers participate annually in competitions across the globe, and Australia competes strongly on the international stage.

Dragon boating also has rich cultural origins, being deeply imbedded in China’s Dragon culture. In Chinese culture, dragons are said to rule the rivers, the seas, the clouds, and the rain.

That's why when we race, each boat is dressed in an ornately carved dragon’s head at the bow and a tail at the stern. The boat is often painted with scales and the paddles represent the dragon’s claws.

Awakening the dragon

The annual Dragon Boat festival is traditionally held on the 5^th day of the 5^th moon (month) of the Chinese calendar and involves ‘awakening the dragon’, to avert misfortune and encourage rainfall for a prosperous harvest in the coming year. In more recent times, the festival commemorated the life of Qu Yuan, a great warrior poet

To awaken the dragon, we conduct the ‘Dotting of the eye ceremony’. Traditionally performed by a Taoist priest, who dots the protruding eyes of the carved dragon head, on the boats, thus ending its slumber. Today, event dignitaries often perform the 'dotting of the eye'. It is considered bad luck to race in a dragon boat that has not been properly awakened or has its eyes closed.

Today, we conduct eye dotting ceremonies for, a new boat, the start of the season, prior to a regatta or at the start of a festival.

Modern day Dragon Boating

The dragon boat itself weighs approximately 250kg and seats 22 people, consisting of 20 paddlers, the Drummer, and the Sweep

The Drummer sits at the head of the boat and is the 'pulse' of the team. The drummer helps the Sweep/Coach communicate with the crew by relaying commands from the back, to the front of the boat.

The Sweep stands at the tail of the boat and is steers the boat. They are responsible for crew safety on the water, and a good sweep will have knowledge of boat commands, effects of wind and water conditions.

The Strokes (first two paddlers) set the pace and timing of the boat. Always keep an eye on your stroke to stay in time. Good timing not only looks incredible but avoids clashing paddles and maintains the energy and speed of the boat.

Racing/ Regattas

The Dragon Boating community is close knit, supportive, yet competitive!

Races consist of ten or twenty paddlers, in men’s, women’s or mixed teams. Race lengths may be 200m, 500m, 1000m, 2000m or occasionally endurance races of 10,000m+ in length.

For certain races, paddlers are classed, however, everyone trains together. Race classes are:

- Juniors (U18)                        - Premiers (18-39)

-Senior A/ Masters (40+)     - Senior B/Grandmasters (50+)

to learn more visit: Cultural Heritage - Australian Dragon Boat Federation (ausdbf.com.au)