Humans of Dragon Boat

18/07/2022

📢 ZERM Dragon Boat & Humans of Dragon Boat are very proud to present the release of "Love Of The Sport," a documentary short film showcasing not only an exciting sport, but also the personal lives and struggles of the athletes and how dragon boat has made them more resilient. 📢

The documentary features interviews with athletes from many countries and exciting footage from races around the globe.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m56pSofkPVI

Share this documentary with your friends as we’re sure you will laugh, cry and feel inspired all in time for in beautiful Sarasota, Florida in the United States!

11/07/2022

📢 ZERM Dragon Boat & Humans of Dragon Boat are very excited to announce "Love Of The Sport," an upcoming documentary short film about people's passion for dragon boat across the world, from New York City to Brazil to Australia and more! 📢

The documentary features interviews with numerous athletes and exciting footage from many races around the globe.

Share this trailer with your friends - then mark your calendars and watch our socials for the full short film releasing next Monday, July 18th at 12pm Eastern (just in time for 🐲).

05/03/2022

We fully support the IDBF’s decision to disallow clubs from Russia and Belarus from competing at the upcoming Club Crew World Championships in Sarasota, USA.

We stand with Ukraine and the , and are horrified at the violence and atrocities committed by Vladimir Putin’s military.

If you want to help, donate money to organizations like or . Also consider purchasing items from Ukrainian artists or sellers on websites like Etsy to directly aid the Ukrainian people.

03/04/2021

Check out RegattaSport’s cool new merchandise for the IDBF’s 30th anniversary!

We’ll definitely be buying a few shirts at least.

Look what the Easter bunny delivered! New technical paddle gear by RegattaSport. Discover your new paddling kit favourites. https://regattasport.com/shop/108-idbf

03/11/2020

Sports politics and the Olympics? Dragon boat in Argentina? Homemade backyard paddling tanks? Seventeen steerers in Israel?

All that and MORE in the October issue of "Dragon Sport News," a global dragon boat e-magazine edited by Mike MacKeddie-Haslam, Founder & Honorary President of the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF).

Read below, and comment what you think!

Read the latest magazines about DSN Oct 2020 and discover magazines on Yumpu.com

27/10/2020

“I started in May 2019 when I realised I missed team sports, so I searched for a sport that would not overload my injured knee. Then we had a warm summer, and the best idea I had was to spend it close to the water (at a river and a lake).
Then, I saw the dragon boat ‘sign’ for me when I was waiting in line in a shop and a man with beautiful shoulders was standing in front of me with a dragon boat paddle on his back.

So I immediately found on Google which dragon boat teams were near me, chose the first one in my city, and contacted the trainer. After 3 trial trainings, the trainer asked me to join the team for a race, where we won all distances!”
--
[Kateryna Bujnak (Brno, Czech Republic), paddler on Dragonclub Brno.]

(Photo credit to respective owners)

09/09/2020

"When I was a young girl, I saw some paddlers sailing in the Sabarmati River in an indigenous boat race, which influenced me to take part in watersports. And in 2014, I met Mr. Tom Joseph, member of the IDBF Competition & Technical Commission and told him that I was interested in watersports and boat racing. I was lucky that he accepted my request and asked me to get ready, as the Dragon Boat Federation of India (DBFI) was going to hold the 7th Dragon Boat Racing Championship (DBRC) in the Assam State - he gave me a chance to take part in the championship on the Maharashtra State Dragon Boat Team. The DBFI National Championship was my first experience taking part in such a hard competition, where 23 state teams were participating. Our team got second place, which made me want to enter the international arena of watersports!

Times flies - I have paddled for over 5 years. As time went by, I became the founder and General Secretary for the Gujarat State and an Executive Member of the Dragon Boat Federation of India (DBFI). DBFI authorities and especially lifetime president Mr. Surjit Singh Bajwa, Secretary General Mr. K.S. Regi and Technical Chair Mr. Tom Joseph drove me to push myself and eventually led to my honour of representing India twice at the 13th WDBRC in China (2017) and 14th WDBRC in Thailand (2019).

I am fortunate to say that dragon boat has played an enormous role in my life. My most memorable dragon boat story happened at the 14th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championship 2019 in Pattaya, Thailand, when the DBFI nominated me for the Race Official interview process and I received the IRO (International Race Official) title. It was the fruitful result of my dragon boat sports journey from Paddler to Coach to finally IRO.”
--
[Hiral Visani (Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India), team leader of the Dragon Boat Federation of India (DBFI), paddler on Premier Indian national team.]

(Photo credit to respective owners)

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07/09/2020

We love finding and sharing cool people and ideas like this! What do you think? Would you try this?

Posted on the Hornet website on July 02, 2020 Guest Blog Post by Laura Thornquist Like every single dragon boat paddler I know, I was feeling very depressed about not being able to paddle. Not only was I missing my teammates, but also the feel of my paddle moving through the water. Paddling is a ver...

29/08/2020

“Dragon boat found me in 2013 through my mother. Her netball team decided to try dragon boat for team-bonding, and through one of the coaches, she found that their junior club was recruiting. My mother asked me (13yrs) if I wanted to try it. Completely unaware of what I was getting myself into, I agreed and what a decision that turned out to be. Since then, I've made life-long friends and found a family. I feel very grateful for not only the experiences that I have had but also the people I've been able to interact with over the years. In looking back on my beginnings in DB, I feel grateful for the environment my club created which allowed holistic development as a young teenager. I do not doubt that without that first experience, I wouldn't have reached the levels I have.

The experience that sticks out the most is the time I've spent with the Australian National Team, which stood out most prominently to me when I was part of the U24 Open team during the 2019 World Championships. From the first camp, everyone in that team could tell it was something special. Despite that feeling, there were points where we didn't know whether we would be able to race. Injuries, surgeries and illness all threatened to derail the campaign. One of our senior members had his campaign prematurely ended to remove his appendix weeks from flying out. Knowing the work he put in when it was time to race the 2k, there was no motivation needed. Just thinking about that race gives me goosebumps. The feelings that emanated from seeing him on the podium with us, given the circumstances, have stuck with me. That group transcended the idea of team and morphed into a family. I'm grateful to have shared my experience with them.”
--
[Gordon Hessell (Sydney, NSW, Australia), paddler on U16/U18/U24 Australian national team, paddler/steerer on NSW State team, paddler on ACCA Dragon Boat Racing Team, ex-paddler on Sydney Zodiacs Dragon Boat Team.]

(Photo credit to respective owners)

26/08/2020

“As a flatwater sprint paddler, I first saw dragon boats at our venue in 2002. I saw a connection as a tool for corporate training and absorbed as much as possible - the False Creek training manual was a great tool.
I paddled in a few races and then took control of the LCKC team in 2005 and never looked back.

My favorite memories:
1st: seeing people 'get it'. Taking a novice festival paddler over the course of 4 years to try out for and then compete on a National team, for example.
2nd: early on when my daughter was a drummer and I was steering; together, we were an undefeated duo!
3rd: my Juniors squad from 2018 ICF Worlds!"
--
[Jim O’Dell (Gainesville, GA, USA), juniors coach/paddler/drummer/steerer/ex-chairman of DragonBoat-USA/ACA, head coach/program director of Lanier Canoe-Kayak Club SuperDragons, head coach/equipment manager of Atlanta Dragon Boat Festival, event organizer at Gainesville-Hall Dragon Boat Challenge & Dragons at the Park.]

(Photo credit to respective owners)

21/08/2020

[ORIGINAL SPANISH HERE, ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW]

"Pertenezco a la selección venezolana de outrigger, entrenamos en Argentina donde he representado a mi país en sudamericanos. Con esa disciplina he hecho individual y puesto 3 dentro de la canoa. Actualmente, pertenezco al equipo Dragones Gauchos, de Dragón Boat, equipo argentino, donde soy parte de la maquinaria de la canoa, poniéndole toda la fuerza a nuestra canoa.

Amo el agua, amo la fuerza y la velocidad, por esto me incliné en la búsqueda de un deporte que cumpliera con esas características, El Dragón para mi es un complemento de lo que sería mi personalidad, siento que en el bote soy yo en mi máxima potencia. También suma que respeto mucho la cultura oriental, me parece fascinante. No llegué al Dragón por casualidad, lo busqué y lo soñé.

El recuerdo más lindo dentro del Dragón es nuestra primera competencia, donde salimos de primeras, fue algo tan mágico y reafirmó que este es el deporte que quiero que me acompañe el resto de mi vida."

“I am on the Venezuelan national outrigger team; we train in Argentina where I have represented my country in the South American Championships. In outrigger canoe, I do individual OC-1 and also seat 3 in OC-6. Currently, I am on the Gauchos Dragons dragon boat team, an Argentine team, where I am part of the middle engine room, adding strength to the boat.

I love water, strength and speed, and that's why I looked for a sport that had those characteristics. For me, dragon boat is a complement to what my personality is; I feel at my maximum power in the boat. I also respect Asian culture a lot, and I actually didn’t find dragon boat by chance - I dreamed it, looked for it, and found it.

My most beautiful memory in a dragon boat is our first competition, where we left first, it was something so magical and reaffirmed that this is the sport that I want to accompany me for the rest of my life.”
--
[Agnedy LaNena Acevedo (Buenos Aires, Argentina), paddler on Gauchos Dragons and Venezuelan national outrigger team.]

(Photo credit to respective owners)

19/08/2020

Hoping for that day when we can get back on the water!

Whether you are forced to take a break from training for outside factors, or whether you choose to take a break for whatever reason, it’s important to get back into training the right way. Taking long, extended breaks from training is crucial for long-term sustained progress. Taking a break might ...