In August 2005, eighty ordinary Australians left their country to compete for gold. It wasn’t for swimming, rugby or tennis but for a lesser-known sport—dragon boat racing. At the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany, Australia competed against 23 other countries for gold.
Dragon boat racing is a loud and exciting sport that promotes community as well as fitness. What’s more, it’s really easy to get involved in and have fun! It is practised all over Australia at all ages and all levels, however its survival needs your help!
This sport isn’t government funded—in order to get to the world championships all our athletes had to organise fundraisers and sponsor themselves. However, nothing could keep them from competing and having fun—our woman’s team came in 6th place and our men’s in 9th!
Here’s some more information on the sport. I am hoping that it will soon have some more support, as Australia is due to host the 2007 world championships!
For me dragon boat racing hits home, as both my parents are national champions and went to Germany for the world championships. I find it remarkable that a sport can provide so much fun and excitement and that anyone with the right commitment can be successful. In fact, my parents only started six months before they became national champions!
Dragon boat racing is practised all over Australia. At the national championships in 2005, NSW proved victorious in all the male and female teams as well as the mixed teams. In NSW alone there are over 20 teams, which range in capabilities, competitiveness and the number of hours put into training.
From mythical tradition to modern day sportWhen I first saw my parents race I wondered where the shape and the style of the boat came from and then I learnt about the traditions behind this modern day sport.
Around two thousand years ago in China there lived a man named Qua Yuan, a patriotic poet. Qua was one of the king’s advisors however his ideas were believed to be radical. He was often criticised by his fellow jealous advisors and the king was finally convinced by these jealous men to exile Qua out of the kingdom.
After many years Qua Yuan learned about a planned invasion of his kingdom and his love for his country and his distress in knowing that it would be destroyed led him to commit suicide. Once his followers heard that he planned to drown himself in the local river, they raced down to it in an attempt to save him. His followers formed groups and jumped into boats. Banging loudly on drums and splashing their paddles around in order to deter the fish from eating his corpse, they searched up and down the river but never found him. Thus, a sport emerged where a boat full of men raced to the sounds of drums in order to keep the beat. Every year on the date of his death, a race is held in this same river to commemorate Qua Yuan’s death.
Dragon boating is one of the fastest growing water sports in the world. It’s easy to participate in, requiring minimal resources and skills. It is truly a team sport and includes teams at all levels of competition. On the water, dragon boating is a widely colourful and loud sport.
Dragons AbreastMy mum was originally in the Australian Masters Team, which is a team for people over 40. Many of her team-mates also belonged to a Dragon Boat Abreast team. These women were fantastic and together they carried the right mix of spirit and competitiveness.
There are Dragon Boat Abreast teams in each state and territory of Australia. They are made up of survivors and family and friends of breast cancer. These women aim to have fun, meet new people and keep up their level of fitness while at the same time increase breast cancer awareness.
Although Dragon Boat Abreast teams may not be fastest in the water, they sure are the largest with over 1000 members Australia wide. They are also the brightest as they tackle races dressed in fluro pink t-shirts and pink feather bowers!
The teams also raise money for breast cancer research and are constantly inspiring the public either with their improvement or their constant enthusiasm. Their main aim is to show that ‘there is a quality of life after breast cancer!’
The technicalitiesCompetitive dragon boat racing is divided into a number of categories. The main two divisions are the premiers and the masters—masters being for people over 40 and premiers being for anyone. Within these two divisions there are male and female teams as well as a mixed team. The mixed team has to comprise at least eight women and eight men. In each boat there are typically 20 rowers as well as one drummer and a steerer, who is known as the sweeper.
Dragon boat races are between 250 and1000 metres long and there are usually 4-6 boats in each race. Starting the enormous boat is hard task and the endurance needed to keep the boat moving quickly is also very challenging. Teams will only be successful if they row in unison, by using their drummer effectively. Hence the sport is largely built on cooperation and camaraderie, making the dragon boat teams closely knit and the races adrenaline charged.
Australia has been involved in dragon boat racing since 1980 and is now seen at all international festivals and events. There are state, national and international levels of competition. At a state level, clubs compete against each other for the state title. Any member of a club is then invited to trial for their state team, which will compete at the nationals in Canberra.
National winners automatically qualify for the world championships, however sometimes not all team members can make a commitment to compete overseas. If this is the case then all other state racers are invited to compete and fill vacant positions.
How do I know this?Most of this information I know is from watching my parents race in regattas as well as from volunteering at their race days. I also found these web sites which contain heaps of information:
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http://www.ausdbf.com.au/aboutausdbf.asp •
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Boat#History_a...• www.dragonboatabreast.com.au—this website gives information about the sport as well as information on Dragon Boat Abreast teams. It also provides gives details on how to become involved in a team and provides links to breast cancer issues.
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http://www.dragonboatsnsw.org.au/index.html—this website is filled with information about dragon boat racing in NSW including team details and sporting information. The site also provides website links and ways to contact NSW members. Although this site is particular to NSW, there are websites available for all states and territories.
