"Good vibes on all tides"
"You don't just paddle, you belong"
The history of dragon boat
Dating back over 2000 years, the origin of Dragon boat begun in southern China.
Today, people across the nation and around the world are fortunate enough to take part in this magnificent sport.
Qu Yuan - Politician, warrior & renowned poet
history & culture
Dragon Boat racing has a rich background of ancient ceremonial, ritualistic and religious traditions, which continues to strengthen the foundation of our sport today. Dragon Boat has a long illustrious history dating back 2000 years to Southern China. The Dragon symbolizes power and boldness, courage and perseverance. In Chinese culture, dragons are said to rule the rivers, the seas, the clouds and the rain. Dragon Boat festivals were originally held to commemorate the life and death of Qu Yuan a politician, great warrior & poet.
Dragon Boats today is a lot different compared to traditional times, ancient Dragon Boats were made of wood which came in different shapes and sizes. These days a standard Dragon Boat is purpose built to race at 12 meters long made of fiber glass materials. The Chinese culture and origin of Dragon boat is still honored by dressing the boat with a decoratively carved dragon head at the bow and a tail at the stern. The boats are painted with scales and dressed with a drum as well to represent the Dragons heart. Dragon Boats can hold twenty paddlers seated two abreast with one drummer seated at the front whose role is to keep time and a sweep steering from the stern of the boat to ensure the boat stays on course.
AWAKENING THE DRAGON
To awaken the dragon, we conduct the ‘Dotting of the eye ceremony’. This practice was traditionally performed by a Taoist priest, who dots the eyes of the carved dragon head.
Today, event dignitaries often perform the 'dotting of the eye' to carry out this tradition. It's also considered bad luck to race in a dragon boat that has not been properly awakened.
Today, we conduct eye dotting ceremonies for, a new boat, prior to a regatta, the start of the season or at the start of a festival.
modern day dragon boating
Today Dragon Boat is a competitive sport celebrated on a global scale with teams competing at both local & international regattas. Over fifty million paddlers participate annually across the world with Australia competing on the international stage. Dragon Boating is a sport for all ages and crosses all cultural divides bringing people together.