Learn to Paddle

Dragon Boating is a truly inclusive sport that promotes friendship, cultural understanding, health and sustainability. Almost anyone can take part and just one experience of dragon boating is often the beginning of a life-long commitment to paddling.

We offer everything, from one day on-water experiences, to 6-week, 12-week and seasonal instruction and practice programs.

For paddlers from novice to competitive, our Club offers a safe, fun and comfortable environment to develop skills, meet new people and improve fitness levels.

You might even meet some new friends!

We extend a warm welcome to join us. This may be your year!

DRAGON BOATING FOR DUMMIES

Starting or joining a Dragon Boat Team

This info was put together with respect to participating at the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival and other events produced by the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society, but should apply to most dragon boat races.

A Dragon Boat Team consists of 22-26 members (20 paddlers, 1 drummer, 1 steersperson and up to 4 spares) and a team manager.

A team must register for events, learn to paddle, practice, ensure they have a trained drummer/caller and steers person, and race. We offer All-In-One packages that do the work for you. These packages include race and regatta registration, instruction and coaching, and the use of all equipment and training for drummers and steerspeople. All the team has to do is show up at the allotted times. For more information on the All-In-One Packages, please email info@dragonboatbc.ca or go to http://dragonboatbc.ca/learn-to-paddle/all-inclusive-packages/

In self-managed teams, the team manager very often is a non-paddler, but is responsible for communicating and distributing team information to team members, gathering and submitting all necessary forms and waivers for the team, attending any festival or club meetings and acting as liaison for their team.

Race Divisions (Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival)

  • Adult Mixed (19yrs and up)
  • Women (19yrs and up)
  • Junior (12yrs and up)

Age and Gender Races

  • Senior’s Cup Race (60yrs and up)
  • Open Division (2 races)

For more detail on the festival and racing, please see our registration package here: http://dragonboatbc.ca/racing-downloads.html

Race Divisions (Steveston Dragon Boat Festival and Last Gasp Regatta)

  • Adult Mixed (19yrs and up)
  • Junior Mixed (12yrs and up)

For more detail on race rules, please see the documents under “Official Rules & Regulations” here:  http://dragonboatbc.ca/racing-downloads.html

Dragon Boat Equipment: Dragon Boats, paddles, drums, and PFDs are provided for practices and races.

Personal paddles and PFDs are also allowed but they must meet the specifications stated in the Rules and Regulations.

All festival equipment used during practices and races must be returned intact.

Race Events:

Most races are 500m in length, unless otherwise specified during registration.

Race schedules are forwarded to team managers and captains approximately one week prior to each event.

Questions to ask when starting a dragon boat team:

What are your team and/or individual goals? Fun, fitness, social, competition etc.

How many practices do you want per week? Beginner teams may only have/want 8-10 practices in total, more skilled teams may practice from 1 to 5 times/week. The average recreational level team paddles twice per week starting in March or April.

What commitment level do you expect from your team members? Will everyone be able to make most of the practices? A common problem is having only 10-14 people attend practices, which makes it less enjoyable for those that do show up. Remember that team members must be available all day, both days of festival weekend.

You will need to find a practice venue if you are a self managing team. Fees vary, as will the facilities that are available (e.g., change rooms, showers, equipment, free or pay parking, coaching resources etc). The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival society runs Dragon Zone, a full service practice club. The Vancouver Dragon Zone is located on False Creek, near Science World. The Richmond Dragon Zone is located at the Richmond Yacht Club on River Road. Dragon Zone has more than 80 teams practicing from the two facilities, and has a fun, vibrant and inclusive atmosphere.

Some teams find their own coach. Many teams favour the turn-key approach and let the Society organize the practices, coaching and race details. Do you have the funds to pay a coach? What do you expect from him/her?

Do you have anyone interested in being the steersperson? Someone with canoeing, sailing or other boating experience would be a good starting point. This position is important for safety reasons and it will be important to ensure that this person gets the right training (from a coach or by attending steering clinics put on during the dragon boat season).

Is anyone interested in being the drummer? Ideally you want someone small, light and loud for this position, but anyone will do. It’s not as easy as it looks, but paddling isn’t either J

Many teams have some sort of organizational structure, but this may not be necessary for all teams:

  • a non-paddling manager who organizes the team
  • a team captain (or co-captains), voted on by the team after the season starts
  • steering committee
  • various other committees as you see fit (e.g., social, travel, communication, team uniforms, finance, etc)

INDIVIDUAL PADDLERS AND SMALL GROUPS

Can’t find enough people for a team? Join other groups and individuals to form a new team or join an existing team that is looking for new paddlers. Dragon Zone has teams of all age groups and abilities (Adult, Senior, Youth, Women’s), and also runs a number of paddling fitness courses all year round. There are generally two intake times: Spring Session (March/April to end of June) and Summer Session (July to end of September). Info@dragonboatbc.ca can help you find the right team.