Conducted every two years, the 10th annual World Dragon Boat Racing Championships with 2,000 athletes, 50 teams from 18 countries participating came to a close yesterday after 6 days of competition at Seddon Channel in Tampa, Florida.
Held in Prague in 2009 and previously in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Berlin, the International Dragon Boat Federation’s biannual event is the highest level of competition in a sport that has been growing globally for more than a decade and appears to be gathering momentum in the United States.
Unlike rowing with long oars, dragon boat teams of 20 or more people use shorter, canoe-like paddles and pull in unison to a thumping drum beat by the leader, stationed facing backward on the bow of a boat that’s often carved and decorated like a dragon.
Though certainly not a major American sport, this Floridian city has embraced it and has earned a reputation as a premier spot for dragon boat racing.
Tampa held its first dragon boat races in 2004 and two years later hosted the national championships. It won its bid for the world races in 2007, becoming just the second U.S. city to host the biennial races (Philadelphia was host in 2001). The city itself is home to dozens of dragon boat teams.
The event appeals to fans who enjoy watching colorful vessels each decorated with a dragon’s head at the bow that come from all over competing in a festive outdoor atmosphere, a relaxing way to spend a summer afternoon.
“It’s so cool is to walk through Channelside and downtown and see people with jackets that say Russia on the back, (or) China,” said Kevin Burns, co-founder of the Tampa Bay Dragon Boat Institute, the host committee.
They come from as far and wide as Hungary, Trinidad&Tobago and Germany and with different styles. To the untrained eye, paddling may look like it’s all in the arms but it is really in the core, the abdominals and lateral muscles. The Germans employ tall men doing long, powerful strokes where the relatively small Chinese team effectively use their short, sharp strokes to good results.
In a race that tests their endurance, stamina and teamwork, all paddlers basically stretch their arms forward, slice the paddle into the water with a rapid sit-up, then stomp back on their feet to lean back and do it again — sometimes more than 120 strokes per minute. Performing that whole motion while not trying to tip a boat that’s narrow enough to wobble when one team member even just turns their head, it is no surprise that many races see at least one boat capsize.
The World Dragon Boat championships teams consist of 20 paddlers, a drummer and a steerer. Competitors compete on 41-foot-long boats, six to a heat. There are races from 500 meters to 2,000 meters. There are 18 competition classes with competitors as young as 12 years old in the Junior Division and over 65 years old in the Grand Dragon Division.
Among the countries with a popular following is the team from the Philippines with athletes that have backgrounds as fishermen or part of the military. They’ve recently set world records and their jerseys are hot merchandise items in Tampa.
The Cobra-Philippine Dragon Boat Federation team hiked its gold medal collection to four as it dominated the Premier Mixed 500 meter (small boat) competition. The “Water Dragons” also from the Philippines have performed well here as well this week in the Premier 1,000-meter (small boat) competition in record fashion, the 200-meter men’s race, and Premier 200-meter mixed event. 
The host nation has enjoyed success through the years too as the USA Dragon Boat team has won multiple championships and 50 world medals including a championship at the Nation’s Cup in Sydney, Australia in 2007.
A sport almost 2,000 years old, dragon boat races honor the legend of Chinese patriot and poet Qu Yuan, who threw himself in the river to protest his exile by a corrupt government. To prevent his body from being eaten by the water dragons and fish, local fisherman beat their drums and splashed water with their paddles. Dragon boat races were later held each year on the anniversary of his death.
