Paddles Up! - Arlene Chan

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archaeological record shows that dragon boats were raced in China more than 5,000 years ago. They were used only for ceremonial purposes until the famous poet and statesman Qu Yuan, who lived during China’s Warring States Period, was banned from the state of Chu for speaking up against a corrupt regime.

      Qu Yuan died some 2,300 years ago by drowning himself in the Miluo River after he learned that the rival state of Qin had defeated his beloved Chu. Qu Yuan’s death was commemorated by holding annual dragon boat races. The Dragon Boat Festival evolved from these annual events and eventually spread across China, mainly in the south, and subsequently to other areas in Southeast Asia.

      Chinese dragon boat racing is much older than the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece. In its modern incarnation, it has one major difference from the Greek Olympics. Unlike those games, which celebrated the power and fighting abilities of the warrior class, traditional dragon boat festivals celebrate the sacrifice of Qu Yuan. Ever since his death, racing dragon boats has been a community activity with mass participation to remember his ultimate sacrifice.

      The roots of the modern sport of dragon boat racing are also found in southern China and the fishing communities of Hong Kong. “Racing the Dragon” is part of their social life and the skills and traditions of dragon boat racing have been passed on, over hundreds of years, from one generation to the next.

      Around the world, there are many other types of traditional long boats, like the dragon boat, which are central to the way of life of local fishing communities. Herein lies the secret and strength of dragon boating. It is truly a sport from the people and for all the people, and one that can bring whole communities together in friendly competition.

      Taking part in dragon boating leads to a knowledge of the traditions of the sport. From this knowledge comes an understanding and respect for different cultures and values, and new friendships with people from around the world.

      Dragon boat racing in the modern era is also based on participation. It is now a team sport in which people work together to achieve a common goal through common effort. There are no individual “stars” in dragon boat racing. Only the combined efforts of the crew as a whole can bring success and the feeling of complete achievement; individual prowess, unless it can be harnessed for the good of the crew, counts for nought.

      Having participated in other sports, I have not found one with the social aspects and camaraderie of dragon boating. Even in Malaysia when the races were starting, we would chat with other teams and when we finished racing we would all be congratulating each other for a good race, win or lose.

      — Stefan Nowak, Pickering, Ontario

      But how did this ancient traditional activity develop into today’s modern sport? Dragon boating is almost part of daily life in Hong Kong and one of the oldest Chinese traditions. It is not surprising that, in 1975, the Hong Kong Tourist Association (now the Hong Kong Tourist Board) decided that dragon boat racing, with its combination of traditional sporting activity and associated festival of Chinese culture, could be a unique way to promote Hong Kong as a tourist venue.

      The first international dragon boat race was then held in Hong Kong in 1976, with a crew from the Japanese city of Nagasaki invited to race. This race launched the modern era of dragon boat racing.

      Since then the Hong Kong International Festival Races (HKIR) have taken place annually on the first weekend after the traditional Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) races that are held on the fifth day of the fifth moon, usually in June.

      Triggered by the successful marketing campaign that followed, which promoted Hong Kong through the HKIR, dragon boat racing rapidly spread across the world into the Pacific Region, Europe, and North America, but particularly to the United Kingdom and Canada. A tradition of paddling open canoes meant that Canadians took to the dragon boat like the proverbial duck to water!

      This explosion of dragon boat activity, emerging out of the Hong Kong International Races, led to the founding of dragon boat associations around the world in the late 1980s. British, Hong Kong, Chinese, and Canadian associations were among the first.

      These national organizations, led by the British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA), established in 1987, came together and founded the European Dragon Boat Federation (EDBF) in 1990, followed in 1991 by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF), and finally the Asian Dragon Boat Federation (ADBF) in 1992.

      Under the guidance of the IDBF the sport has spread to nearly 70 countries on all continents with standard racing rules and regulations formulated by the IDBF. As well, standardized IDBF racing dragon boats and equipment were introduced for world and continental championships in the sport and for adoption by organizations new to the sport.

      In a nutshell, dragon boating is way too much fun to be left out on the dock watching.

      — Lizz Hanan, Victoria, British Columbia

      The modern sport came of age in 2007 when dragon boat racing was recognized as a separate sport from all other paddle sports and the IDBF was admitted into membership of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) as the international federation and world authority specifically for dragon boating.

      Current estimates put the number of participants in dragon boating, worldwide, at over 50 million, of which, it must be said, most are in Southeast Asia. In Hong Kong, for example, around 250,000 paddlers take to the water during the Dragon Boat Festival week. Combined estimates for Europe and North America give a figure of 300,000 people “racing the dragon” each year, of which 70,000 or more are based in Canada.

      In Canada, through the efforts of people like Mike Kerkmann from Toronto and his company, Great White North Communications, festival dragon boat racing has developed at an astonishing rate over the past 12 or more years, with community dragon boat races now being held in towns and cities across the country. Recently, it has spread to the United States.

      At the international level the IDBF now organizes three levels of world championships: for corporate and community festival racers, for serious dragon boat clubs, and for national dragon boat crews representing their countries at the highest level in the sport.

      Heading the list of top nations in dragon boating is Canada, which has won more gold, silver, and bronze medals across the spectrum of championship divisions (premier, junior, and senior) than any other nation, including China, the traditional home of the sport, since the first world championships were held at Yueyang in 1995. Canada also lays claim to having won the Nations Cup for the best Premier Division crew, three times in a row — a feat as yet unmatched by any other nation.

      Some 30 years after the first HKIR in 1976, dragon boating has truly become a modern sport for all. The sport has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and has set inclusion in the Olympic Games as its ultimate aim.

      A step in the right direction was the inclusion of dragon boat racing in the 2008 Asian Beach Games, and another will be its inaugural participation in the 2010 Asian Games. Meanwhile, by way of a little knock on the IOC’s door, 2008 saw the Olympic Flame being carried by dragon boat during both the Hong Kong and Macau legs of the Beijing Olympic Torch relay.

      In ending this introduction to the whys and wherefores of dragon boating, may I summarize the whole activity by saying that dragon boat racing is a sport for every level. You can compete with your crew at the highest level of competition, the IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships. You can also compete with your club crew, your colleagues and friends from work, or your local community, and, at each level, enjoy a challenging day of racing.

      Dragon boating is technically simple to do and inexpensive to take part in as a healthy activity that can be practised by all ages and ability groups. It is a character-building team sport and, above all, it is GREAT FUN.

      See you on the water!

      Mike Haslam

       Executive President

       International Dragon Boat Federation