Dragon Boat World Championship Paddles Through Tampa Bay

TAMPA BAY, Fla—Last weekend more than 2,000 Dragon Boat racers descended upon Tampa Bay, Florida to compete in the 10th annual Dragon Boat World Championships. Teams of paddlers from 17 different countries came from as far away as Singapore and Australia to determine which team would be crowned Dragon Boat champion.

Tampa Bay has become the unofficial U.S. capital of Dragon Boat Racing, with more boats per capita than in any other community in North America. The sport itself is spreading across the continent: more than 70 communities across the nation host Dragon Boat Festivals.

The sport boasts more than 60 million participants worldwide. Last year’s World Championship was held in Macau, 2012 will be in Hong Kong, and the 2013 event is scheduled for Tehran, Iran.
 
Over the course of five days, divisions of racers ranging from seniors to juniors of both genders raced against one another under the baking Florida sun.

After days of racing, Germany won the Standard Boat Premier Open class, ahead of the United States and China. The margin of victory over the 500-meter course was a mere .236 second.

In Small Boat, the Philippines triumphed, followed by Australia and Japan. The Filipino team won by a more comfortable 5.7-second margin

The Standard boats, with 20 paddlers, a drummer, and a sweeper, covered the course in under two minutes, reaching speed over nine miles per hour. The Small boats took some thirty seconds longer.

Modern Version of an Ancient Sport

Dragon Boat racing is a sport that is rooted in 2,000 years of Chinese history. Legend has it that the sport started when the revered poet and diplomat, Qu Yuan, was accused of treason by the corrupt Kingdom of Chu.

In a defiant act of protest against the government, Qu Yuan committed suicide by throwing himself into the Mi Lo River. The people who lived by the river jumped into their fishing boats and paddled rapidly to where Qu Yuan had drowned to make sure the fish wouldn't eat the beloved poet's body.

Every year since, the people of the country have held a ceremonial Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate Qu Yuan's death.

Ginny O’Hare, President of the U.S. Dragon Boat Association, said that modern Dragon Boat racing grew from this annual ceremony held for Qu Yuan. O’Hare explained, “As time went on and the memory [of Qu Yuan] grew fainter, people began to race their boats instead of just holding a ceremony; later it evolved into what it is today: a sport that uses aerodynamic and streamlined boats with 20 people paddling.”

Although it's difficult to say exactly when the ceremony became sport, there are silk paintings that were made 1,000 years ago that depict the racing of Dragon Boats during China's Song dynasty. The sport has a much shorter history in the West.

The executive director of Tampa Bay's Dragon Boat Institute, Christine Canevar, said, “Dragon Boat racing was introduced to America in the 1970’s and grew rapidly in popularity after the mid-1980’s.” There are now millions of Dragon Boat racers around the globe.

Next: Modern Equipment, Ancient Culture