Dragon Boat Paddling

There are many legends surrounding the origins of the dragon boat.  What is known is that this long-style boat has been around for over two centuries and traces its roots to China. It is now used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing which originated in China over 2000 years ago. While competition has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of folk ritual, it emerged in modern times as an international sport in Hong Kong in 1976. For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. At other times the decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for training purposes.

During a race, there are several roles on the dragon boat:

Paddlers sit facing forwards (unlike aft-facing seated rowers), and use a specific type of paddle which (unlike a rowing oar or sculling scull) is not rigged to the racing watercraft in any way. Therefore, Dragon boaters are paddlers not rowers or oarsmen/women.  The paddling style is similar to canoeing.

The caller (or drummer) sits at the head of the boat and may issue commands to the crew through a combination of hand signals and voice calls, and also generally exhorts the crew to perform at their peak.

The steersperson controls the dragon boat with an oar rigged at the rear of the boat. It is the steersperson’s job to secure the safety of the paddlers and keep the boat on course.