History of Dragon Boat
The Dragon Boat Festival dates back 2,500 years, but the genesis of the first festival is unknown. The most popular story involves Chinese statesmen and poet Qu Yuan. Distraught over the fall of his kingdom to corrupt political forces Qu Yan committed suicide by drowning rather than serve a corrupt government. Dragon Boat racing represents the boat search for Qu Yuan by his villagers on the day of his death. As with Dragon Boat racing today, the villagers’ search for Qu Yuan represents an act of unity and teamwork with paddlers working united toward a common purpose.
The Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the "Duen Ng" in Cantonese or "Duan Wu" in Mandarin. One of the major Chinese festivals officially celebrated in China on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar—which is June for the rest of us!
In China, the first Dragon Boat races were violent. Paddlers of competing boats threw stones and struck each other with cane sticks. Falling into the water was considered the will of the gods and a sacrifice to the dragon deity.
The dragon is the most celebrated of the Chinese zodiac deities and represents power over water. Because the dragon deity wards off misfortune and brings rainfall to crops, paddlers unfortunate enough to fall into the water received no aid from other boats or celebrants at the river’s edge.
What is Dragon Boat?
Dragon Boating is a team sport that originated in China over 2000 years ago and has since made its way across the globe. Today, a modern dragon boat is about 40 feet long and usually holds 10 rows of seats for 20 paddlers sitting side-by-side, a drummer in the front and a steersman in the back.
The boats feature Asian style dragon head attached to the bow and a dragon’s tail attached to the stern with dragons scales painted along the sides of the boat. The drummer sets the pace for the race guiding paddlers using the rhythmic drum beat to indicate the cadence of the crew’s paddling.
Dragon Boat Racing in Calgary
Dragon boat races have been held in Calgary at the Glenmore Reservoir since 1991, when it was organized by the Calgary Canoe Club and the Hong King Canada Business Association. Every year teams from across the city and North America participate in the festival, which showcases Chinese cultural heritage with demonstrations of Kung-Fu, dancing and singing, Tai Chi, fashion, and the traditional Lion Dance.
Calgary Dragon Boat Society was formed and opened the doors for local paddlers to compete on the Glenmore Reservoir at North Glenmore Park. 2016 marks the the 25th anniversary of the Calgary Dragon Boat Race & Festival. As one of Calgary’s premier sport festivals, the Calgary Dragon Boat Race & Festival draws more than 1850 competitors from over 50+ teams across Calgary and Canada, and more than 4000 spectators in an abundance of excitement and cultural experiences. The Calgary Dragon Boat Race & Festival is geared towards creating an unforgettable experience, where the dragon boat competition illustrates comradery, teamwork and inspiration.
There are both women's and mixed teams competing in the Calgary Festival. Some teams are paddling clubs like the Red Eyes, while others are made up of employees of local businesses or organizations. Some of the women's teams are made up of solely breast cancer survivors, and one of the highlights of dragon boat festivals is the breast cancer remembrance ceremony.
Every August, Calgary hosts the Calgary Dragon Boat Festival, which is one of the festivals the Red Eyes competes in each season.
It's a Paddle sport!
Dragon Boat Racing is a paddling not a rowing sport. Crew members paddle sitting, crouching or standing facing the prow of the boat. The paddles are not connected or attached to the boat which makes the sport more challenging than typical rowing sports.
Did you know?
Dragon Boat Racing is a great team building and family sport accessible to all ages and ranges of ability.
Dragon Boat Racing is over 2,000 years old, making it one of the world’s oldest sports.
It’s also considered the world’s fastest growing team water sport and one of the fastest growing team sports, second only to soccer. Nearly 50 million people competed last year and there is a movement to make Dragon Boat Racing an Olympic sport.
Modern dragon boat racing is organized at an international level by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF).
The biggest dragon boat festival racing events outside of Asia are in Europe, in Malmö, Sweden and in North America, in the USA and Canada. San Francisco, Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal each host races featuring more than 180 teams with 25-person crews.
Last year, more than 60 teams competed in the Calgary Dragon Boat Festival. Teams raced along a 500-meter course in multiple races of 4 teams each. They include community, paddle clubs, businesses, and Breast Cancer survivors from near and far with paddlers of all fitness levels and ages, from students to seniors.
Dragon Boat Racing teams in North America typically paddle at rates of 60 to 85 strokes per minute.