Dragonboat Blog | The Dragonboating Resource

dragonboat talk for dragonboaters.

Wouldn’t it be great to know when the next dragonboat event is on in a country you will be visiting next? I know just the place to find out and it’s listed on Worldwide Dragon Boat Calendar. This site was designed for dragonboat paddlers and spectators who are interested in finding dragonboat events, festivals and races around the world. It features events in Africa, Australia, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

It’s a site that gets updated regularly and also has some tourism links to help people find out more about the country they want to potentially visit. At the moment I see it’s still in it’s infancy stage and would be great if they could have a “visual” calendar like in Outlook that shows month by month or week by week of what is happening around the Dragonboating world.

Here’s a snippet of the site down below:

It’s amazing what media can do and what it offers to a community. So why shouldn’t dragonboating like any other sports have live TV coverage and be played on prime time TV? Well a couple of guys by the names of Brent Gardner and Bob Singerman have just done that. This time instead of waiting for the TV channel to come onto a station near you, you get to watch the channel on the Internet. It is the most effective way to broadcast a message and get the information to the dragonboat community quickly!

So in January 2007, The Dragon Boat Channel was launched and has been extremely successful in providing videos and coverage of live events, product reviews and lots of other interesting topics relating to dragonboating. As the company is based in Tampa, Florida US the coverage is mainly on events hosted in the USA. Never the less, it is a great website to check out and hopefully over the coming years it will expand globally to other countries in the world.

Visit the dragonboat channel here: www.thedragonboatchannel.com

DBTV

The Genesis dragonboat paddle bag is a very basic bag which is mainly designed to hold one paddle and be carried on the shoulder or hand. The really good thing about these bags are how well they are padded compared to other bags I’ve seen in the market. It truly does protect your paddle from potentially high impact force, though it will never be as good as a paddle hard case. The Genesis dragonboat paddle bags are hand made in Malaysia by the company called Genesis Canoeing.

Another great thing is the variety of colours they offer and these bags are custom made for paddle sizes between 46″ to 51″. The bag comes with a detachable shoulder strap and is simply great for the dragonboat paddler who doesn’t need more than a cover to protect their precious paddle.

The colours offered currently are:

• Black
• Grey
• Orange
• Pink
• Red
• Royal Blue
• Yellow

Genesis Paddle Bags

Today I have a very special item that I am proud to support and recommend to you. Dragons Abreast Australia have introduced a lovely Keyring of Hope which is to help raise and support Breast Cancer for the month of October. A portion from the sale of every Keyring of Hope goes to Dragons Abreast.

“Dragons Abreast helps those living with breast cancer regain a sense of wellness, self-confidence and control of their life while overcoming the feeling of isolation that a diagnosis of breast cancer can often bring.”

Keyring of Hope

It comes in a lovely box with interchangeable dresses and the key ring is very easy to use. There’s no having to thread your keys anymore because there’s a quick release clip to just slip your keys securely onto this keyring. Each package includes:

• 1 keyring
• 2 interchangeable dresses
• 2 additional charms

Keyring Box

It is a fantastic cause and I would recommend everyone to support Dragons Abreast Australia by purchasing one of these keyrings via the DBV website. They are $15.00 AU each plus shipping.

The Tyhoon8 dragonboat paddle bag is one of the nicest bags I have seen around and offers many colours and sizes. As I own one myself and have seen these bags in the dragonboat market, it’s safe to say these bags are good quality and definitely very practical for dragonboaters. Though, not everyone will want one of these paddle bags. The people who would want one, has to meet three strict criteria in order to qualify in my opinion for wanting to purchase. First, they must be dragonboaters. Second, they must be dragonboaters who own paddles. And third, they must be dragonboaters who own paddles who commute. Because without these three-tiers of qualification, you really wouldn’t be very interested in a bag like this and hence why you are reading this.

Over the years, Typhoon8 dragonboat paddle bags have evolved and changed with the market. Currently Typhoon8 offers a range of dragonboat paddle bags:

• The Basic Dragonboat Paddle Bag
• Standard Dragon Boat Paddle Bag
• Full Length Multi-Paddle Bag

The Basic Dragonboat Paddle Bag
This is the really basic, budget dragonboat paddle bag. It does the job to hold your paddle and allows you to carry it on your back. The only downside is that it doesn’t cover your paddle completely so if you happen to hit your paddle into something it will mostly likely dent. The bag comes with an adjustable Velcro shoulder strap and various colours to choose from:

• Grey with Red Trim
• Grey with Orange Trim
• Grey with Lime Green Trim
• Grey with Pink Trim

Standard Dragonboat Paddle Bag
This is the full length dragon boat paddle bag, which holds a single dragonboat paddle. There are additional pockets for carrying your wallet and keys and also a water bottle holder as well.

What makes this bag different is it has a Chinese “Dragon Boat” character embroidered onto the shoulder strap and each zipper has the Typhoon8 logo on it. There are also many colours to choose from:

• Black with Red Trim
• Black with Orange
• Black With Lime
• Black With Pink Trim
• All Black

Black with Red Trim

Black with Orange Trim

Black with Green Trim

Black with Pink Trim

[caption id="attachment_366" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="All Black"][/caption]

Full Length Multi-Paddle Bag
As the name suggests this dragonboat paddle bag can hold up to multiple paddles of 1-2 paddles in the new Black and Camo colours. The original Grey multi-paddle bag could store up to 3 paddles. This bag was designed to be the larger version of the standard dragonboat paddle bag, allowing more room for storing other items, such as towels and shoes.

Multi-Paddle Bag in Black

Multi-Paddle Bag in Camo

If you liked the Apex Accelerator, you will find it no different with the Ultimate, except for the additional length adjustment in the handle.

The Apex Ultimate dragonboat paddle allows you to change from lengths of 47 to 51 inches. Unfortunately it only allows for an adjustment of 2 inches depending on the length you purchase. For example if you purchased a 47inch Ultimate it only allows up to 49inch or purchasing a 49inch Ultimate would allow up to 51inch. This compared to the G-Power Falcon is not as good because the G-Power Falcon allows for a full range of adjustment between 45inch to 52inches and without compromising the weight. Whereas in the Apex Ultimate you will need to add aluminum rings to increase the length of the paddle and after testing it, I have found the aluminum rings do add considerable weight to the original paddle. The average weight of the paddle with additional rings is about 550grams or 19.5oz. This is a quite a difference compared to the Apex Accelerator which on only weighs around 400grams or 14oz.

I also noted that if you don’t clean the paddle after use, particularly in salt water the handle and aluminum rings start to form rust and this can be quite a hassle.

Lastly the biggest difference I did notice was it had a round carbon fibre shaft instead of an elliptical shaft and I noticed it wasn’t as comfortable to hold compared to the Apex Accelerator. Something I would suggest to Apex: please change to an elliptical shaft!

Overall the dragonboat paddle has been designed ideally for a more seasoned athlete who trains in all different water levels and conditions allowing them to easily adjust their paddle length when necessary.