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dragonboat talk for dragonboaters.

As you may or may not know, and depending on which story you believe, the sport of dragon boat racing can directly trace its roots back to a real person who existed in China over 2,300 years ago. There are many versions of the story but the underlying belief is that Qu Yuan, an important minister in the Chu government, was a man of wisdom and was firm to his own beliefs. He was exiled by corrupt and jealous advisors to the king. In 278 BC, when his capital of Ying was captured by the state of Qin, he committed suicide by wading into the Milo River in the ultimate act of political protest. Now we don’t advocate suicide, but we realize that sometimes a well worded opinion piece will at least start discussion, and in some cases it may even result in change.

Qu Yuan

The Spirit of Qu Yuan lives today throughout the world and we respectfully pay homage to him by allowing for the publication of paddlers’ own firm beliefs.

Why do so many people feel that there is only one way to race dragon boats?
Sure, I understand about standardisation and appreciate the need for rules and regulations, but here’s the bottom line. As long as you have at least two dragon boats you can have a race. They don’t even need to match! The more the merrier but don’t get all hung up on having a huge festival with entertainment and food on a stick, just get out there and race! In some places the boats are used once a year and then sit unused for 11 months. To me this is pitiful. The boats should be loved and used and the dragons need to be fed with regular competition.

What is your organisation’s excuse?
Too much work… not enough people? It is great if you want to put in all the work and make the event special, but don’t let that stop you from just holding a race! Let’s review what you need to hold a successful race.
1. Water – it does not have to be a fancy race course, any body of water will do.
2. Boats – two dragon boats is enough for head to head competition
3. Teams – they don’t even need to be full teams! If one team is short, share paddlers and just get out there and have fun.

That’s it. The rest is just an excuse for making it more complicated. I know what you are thinking – no one will show up for just a race. There must be a sound system and a race course with buoys and tents and a matched set of dragon boats and we just can’t hold a race without food stores and entertainment, for what will we do between races?

Personally, I feel the best races are those where the paddlers are just having fun. It doesn’t even matter if you have two different brands of boats; a boat is a boat is a boat. Figure out a way to handicap them, like by weight and move on. What does matter is that you have a good time paddling, be it in practice or in competition. The sport is based on friendship, family and fun. Do not lose sight of the fun side of the sport.

who is this calling?

Is your drummer useful or just dead weight? The effectiveness of the drummer varies greatly from team to team. Some want the smallest lightest body possible, while others see this as a critical and strategic part of the crew. Some teams rely heavily on the drum beat while others ignore it. Before continuing, let me pass on this passage from the Dragonboat.de web site:

The deceitful drum impact “I did not want to believe it and therefore I checked it once. Does the speed of the sound really have a negative effect on the uniformity of the stroke rate within a Dragon Boat or can you rely on the drum beat to set the stroke rate?

At a temperature of 18°C the speed of sound amounts to approx. 342 meters per second. The sound needs only approx. 0.03 seconds to travel the ten meters from the Drummer to the last paddling bench. With a frequency of 60 strokes per minute a paddle stroke takes one second and the hand of the Paddlers moves in this time approx. one meter. In 0.03 seconds the paddle moves thus 0.03 m = 3 cm. Related to the overall length of the paddle stroke a delay of 3% results. If one considers that over 10 paddling benches the total could be 30 cm the delay rises to nearly 10%. If you can believe in these numbers then the situation is what we always knew it to be – that the drum beat is only a paddling Rhythm. The question then arises: “Why do we need the Drummer?” – Very simply, because a Dragon Boat without Drummer is no longer a Dragon Boat and because we do need someone to throw into water after Racing and – finally we all want our fun!”

Mathematically the article may be right about the Drum Impact; but only mathematically. Most drummers can only be heard by the front half of the boat. The back half uses a variety of means to keep time including the most common method of watching the lead strokes. In many boats the helm will help relay communications to the back half. By working together the helm and the drummer form a team that ensures complete communication within the boat. Some of these teams use elaborate signals and code words to keep their crew informed, while keeping the competition in the dark.

Calling the finish or a rate up or a power sequence are all critical elements of a race and the paddlers all need this information simultaneously. Some teams overcome this with the use of electronics. The “cox-vox” is a system that amplifies a voice and projects it over three speakers in the boat. All paddlers are getting the information at the same time. My experience in international events shows that the microphone is used equally in the front and the back of the boat depending on where the team leader is located.

Don’t discount the steersperson when making your decision about the drummer. A good helm can read a race and is in a better position to see what is happening with the competition. Additionally, the helm is not occupied with the beating of the drum and trying to hang on to a tiny seat swaying in the wind. Regardless of whether or not your drummer is the key part of your team or just along for the ride, there is something to be said about the position. A drummer sitting tall beating the drum with vigour and rhythm is a beautiful sight and an integral part of the sport. The boom, boom, boom of the drums echoing across the water help differentiate our sport from all others and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If he or she has a loud voice that helps motivate the paddlers and carry the team to victory, all the better. Does a 3% lag mean so much that we should discount one of the cornerstones of the sport? Not in my opinion. Although I may disagree with the article I have to agree with one aspect. It is fun to take the person who has been yelling at you during all the practices and races and throw them into the water.

Some paddlers have probably heard of the abbreviation IDBF Spec 202a when they look at purchasing a paddle, but don’t really know what it means. I’m going to give a brief summary of what IDBF stands for and who they are, so for any of the paddlers wondering what is this, then here it!

IDBF, stands for International Dragon Boat Federation.

History of IDBF: This is the International governing body of Dragon Boating that was originally formed in 1991. As Dragonboating had been around for over 2000 years where it began in China, there was no formal constitution that had guidelines in the modern era and as the sport was starting to take off in other countries, a body of members came together to set some guidelines. Hence IDBF was formed.

International Dragon Boat Racing competitions for non-national crews have been staged around the world since June 1976. When overseas crews were invited for the first time, to race in the traditional Hong Kong Festival Races it was from this event and date that the member associations of the IDBF accepted and record times.

From the example of the Hong Kong International Races, other international races quickly established themselves at ‘club level’ (notably in Singapore; Malaysia; Canada; New Zealand Australia and Sweden) and common Rules and Regulations for international races were developed. In the early 1980s the sport began to develop as a recognised sport and from the mid 1980s onwards, dragon boat associations, with formal constitutions and quite independent of any other sports governing bodies, were established at ´national level´ in Asia, Europe, North America, Australasia and Africa.

In the late 1980s ad hoc meetings were held and minutes recorded, between representatives of the established dragon boat associations and newly emerging crews, with regard to forming Continental and World Federations for the sport. As a result of these ongoing discussions the European Dragon Boat Federation (EDBF) was formed in 1990, followed by the IDBF in 1991 and the Asian Dragon Boat Federation (ADBF) in 1992. These three independent federations now act as the representative bodies for the sport; enact international rules and regulations and organise dragon boat championships for their member associations.

So next time you see the symbol below on your paddle, any dragonboat equipment and articles you will be proud to know that it’s approved by IDBF and can be used anywhere around the world.

IDBF Logo

Have you visited and seen Dragon Boat Net? It’s a site for Dragonboat Paddlers. It has updates of events and news about major events happening around the world. You can say it’s like a central hub to dragonboating.

“Dragon Boat Net links the worldwide dragon boat family. It provides Dragon Boat News and Reports, Insights to the Dragon Boat Sport, Dragon Boat Photo Galleries and great Dragon Boat Videos, a Dragon Boat Forum and even offers free Blogs and Websites to the Dragon Boat Community.”

There is some good information there, but the site seems too cluttered to get around and I believe that is probably the reason why I find it hard to find what I want. Never the less, the link is below:

Dragon Boat Net

Extract taken from: “Team Captain” – dragon-boat.blogspot.com

Like I discussed earlier, dragon boat is a team sport, where costs are incurred as a team. No matter if you have 12 people or 30 people on your dragon boat team, it’ll still cost the same amount of money to book your practice, hire your steersperson, or enter your race. The only “individually-incurred” costs are for personal things like life jackets, paddles, or team shirts.

So how do you budget for all of these things? I will review the biggest items on our team’s budget this year and go over how much you should expect to pay and what you should expect to get.

Well, the biggest cost, by far is entry fees for festivals. Entry fees range from $700 to $1500. Usually the small, newer races will be cheaper, and the older, more established races are more expensive. By “small”, I mean anything from about 30 to 70 teams. These are usually one-day festivals, and are under 5 years old. The “large” festivals are the 100 plus teams and span two days. The GWN Challenge, for example, has 180 teams competing annually and is currently in its 13th year.

When looking at your race fees, you should consider what your team wants out of the racing experience before deciding what your budget for races should be. When considering a festival, find out how many races you get at the festival, if your team can do a one day festival or would like two days, and how far the festival is from where you live or practice. Find out how many free or discounted practices you get included with your race entry. With Oakville, you get two free practices. At GWN, you get 50% off your first two practice but no freebies at all.

And finally consider what kind of “experience” you want your team to have. I think that the bigger races are great for a first-time competing team. There is a lot of hype at a big race, with 1,000s of paddlers, spectators, and action happening. It’s definitely a fun way to celebrate the end-of-season and get your team feeling excited. Plus the money is worth it in the way the festival is organized and presented to you. (Read my reviews of past races by clicking older links on the right hand side).

The second biggest item on the budget is practice fees. This year, the total came to $727.31 for 7 practices at Sunnyside beach in Toronto. That’s just over $100/practice after taxes, but breaks down to $65 for the one-hour boat rental (which includes paddles and life jackets for everyone) plus $33 per hour for a steersperson. Mind you, if we had a teammate who could steer for us, then we would’ve saved over $200. And in my Vancouver days, we didn’t even have the option of hiring a steersperson—we had to learn how to do it on our own!

Anyway, a brand new team can get away with 4 practices and still perform decently on race day although an ideal number would be 6 total practices. When you’re budgeting for your race entry fees, and find a race that includes 2 free (or discounted) practices in the fees, then that’s great because it will help you save on your practice budget.

These top two expenses are actually all you need to commit to for a proper dragon boat season. At the cheapest, four practices and a small race would only be about $900. Not too bad if you split it amongst 22 members.

But to look like a REAL team, your team needs to get team uniforms. You’ll notice at the festivals that some teams go all out, dressing head-to-toe in coordinated outfits. It’s rare to not have a team uniform, so you should get, at the very least, a printed t-shirt. These days, silk-screened shirts are pretty cheap, and can probably be found for $15-$20 each. Our dry-wicking, athletic shirts cost $25 each, with print on both front and back of the shirt. Not bad at all, and we added the cost of the shirt into the membership fees at the beginning of the year so we would have money up front.

So overall, with careful budgeting and early planning, you can do a lot with a little. And with some fundraising or sponsorship support, you can charge your members less, enter a couple extra races, or get decked out in a really fancy dragon boating outfit!

I’ve always been intrigued at the thought of starting a dragon boat club. Though, it doesn’t sound hard nor is it easy and it does require good leadership, having good people and strong time management.

Extract taken from: “Team Captain” – dragon-boat.blogspot.com

Here’s three simple steps below in starting a club:

1. Get a boat.
The first step is to make sure that there is a dragon boat club in your area. These “clubs” are organisations or associations who run a practice site and rent out dragon boats. Teams (even elite teams) do not buy their own boats; everyone rents from a club. Dragon boat clubs offer rental rates for their boats and offer services like coaching and steering.

So, first be sure there is a club relatively close by. If your city has any flat water (i.e. lake, bay, or slow moving waters), then there’s a good chance that there is some paddling activity going on. The best thing to do is search in your area under Google. Try key words like “canoe” clubs or “outrigger paddling” clubs in addition to “dragon boat”. Remember that many places that rent out canoes also rent out dragon boats.

2. Get people.
After making sure there is a place to dragon boat, you need to make sure you have enough people on your team. Getting people also allows you to start getting money, which is what you’ll need to pay for the boat practices, ie. the next step. (So steps 1, 2, and 3 really go hand-in-hand).

You need 20 paddlers minimum, but I recommend recruiting 22 to 24 members to your team. The boat has exactly 20 seats, so having more than 20 members will give you some spare paddlers. Spares are just as important as regular paddlers. Typically, of your group of 22 people, 2 or 3 people aren’t going to come to the practice or race. This means you’ll have exactly 20 people, which is perfect.

Other than paddlers, you will also need a drummer and a steersperson. These are both critical roles, but for some reason, I find it harder to recruit people for these positions. A skilled steersperson, however, is always in high demand. (A status not unlike a good hockey goalie.) So it pays to have one person on your team devoted to and specifically trained just to steer. You’ll also save a lot of money over “hiring” someone to steer for you. Drummers, on the other hand, do not require a lot of training, and do not need to be at every practice. A “good” drummer is someone who is small, light, and really loud. Drummers can be one of your spare paddlers too.

3. Get money.
Once you have enough paddlers, and have found a place to practice, you’ll have to get money. Money is important because dragon boat is an expensive sport. Costs are not incurred individually as they are in other sports (i.e. hockey, where each players goes out to buy hockey sticks, pads, skates, and tons of equipment). In dragon boat, all the necessary equipment is included in the price of a boat rental. But because you rent the boat “as a team”, the costs are also charged “per team”. You also race as a team, and therefore incur entry fees as a team.

These fees often need to be paid up front, or close to up front, and can be several hundreds of dollars. A beginner team should have at least 6 practice sessions before going into a race. As you can see, these costs add up, even when shared amongst 22 people, so make sure you have a committed team first that will split that cost.

There are several revenue models in the world of dragon boat and I’ll list a few for you here.

1. Membership fees. On average most team members are charged $150 each. This is a very reasonable amount of money for a sport, and is average for dragon boat membership fees. (Other teams can charge $100-$250, I’ve seen). For a 22 person team, we had a budget of $3,300, which funded 8 weeks worth of practices, entry into a couple of races, and team shirts for everyone.

2. Sponsorship. Many teams you will see are sponsored. There are many corporations that have their own team, for example, the “IBM Dragonboat Team” or “Deloitte Dragons”. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask your company to sponsor your team, even if the team isn’t entirely made up company employees. Or you can go seek out sponsorship from other companies. Sponsors may give you money or may “donate” t-shirts or hats to you. The best sponsorship situation is when you sell, what I call, “naming rights.” You’ll be surprised how many companies will give you several thousand dollars just to name your team after them. Smaller companies may still give you a few hundred for wearing their logo on your t-shirts. It’s a lot of work finding a sponsor, but can be a great pay off and eliminate any financial head aches for you later.

3. Fundraisers. Many dragon boat teams fund raise year-round. Not only does this help offset costs, but it is also a great team-building idea. There are several types of fundraisers, that I can go on and on about, but here are some primary examples:

* Easy-work, low-pay. There are a number of bars, and restaurants that have active sports club fund raising joint ventures. An example from a Dragonboat Club who has gone into a joint-venture with a local pub is that they give you x-number of tickets worth a burger and a beer. They charge you $5 per ticket but you can sell the ticket for however much you want (usually $6 or $7) and pocket the difference. The bar wins because you’re bringing in customers, and you win because you’re making money without much effort. Of course, with just $1 or $2 profit, you’ll have to sell about 500 tickets before having enough to pay for one race.

* Hard-work, low-pay. I see a lot of teams holding BBQ, especially in suburban areas. This is definitely a fun fundraiser, and good for building team spirit, but definitely low in return. During one 8-hour BBQ, a team raised just under $400. A lot of money for one day, but when you consider there were 20 of us working at the BBQ, that averages out to a salary of $2.50 an hour. We figured that just donating an hour’s pay from our salaries would be more than 5 times that amount. (Of course, if you’re students, then $2.50/hour is pretty decent).

* Hard-work, high-pay. The most successful fundraisers that I’ve had are selling tickets to a club. Typically club organizers, will “give you the door” for the early hours of a slow night. This means you can sell tickets in advance, and collect cover from party-goers. Cover can be anywhere between $7 and $10 and you should expect that with a team of 20 you can sell 200 tickets to a club night. The payoff can therefore be as much as $2000 in one night! Of course, there is a lot of work in hustling tickets, and if your event is poor, no one will ever go to another one.

So those are the first three key steps in starting a dragon boat team:
1. Get a dragon boat
2. Get people
3. Get money

It almost doesn’t matter what order you follow these steps in, but you must have these three criteria before you can move ahead on anything else. In future entries, I’ll go further into details such as budgeting, creating a strong roster, and finding coaches.