Dragon Boating is a very unique sport that has been around for over a thousand years. It all started with a poet, warrior, and loyal aide to the emperor named Chu Yuan. One day when the former emperor passed, Chu Yuan was unjustly banished due to the court not favoring him and his views. He would walk the countryside and read poems he had written in hopes that the new emperor would hear his cry. One day Yuan perished, and his loyal followers heard of this. They went to search for his body fearing that the fish may devour it if it were in the water. So they took their paddles and beat on the water to scare the fish away from their beloved warrior. They also banged on drums and gongs in another attempt to scare the fish. From this story came the tradition of Dragon Boating that is known today. This tradition was carried on to commemorate the sacrifices Yuan made in his life.
Today Dragon Boating is a growing sport that draws people from all over the world! It is a great family sport. There is some thing for every one! Here is how it works. There is a boat with 18 seats on either side for paddlers. These paddlers work together in time to keep the boat going at great speed. There is also a steersman, which is the person in the very back keeping the boat on its path. Two other very important positions in the boat are the drummer and the flag catcher. The drummer sits near the head of the boat and beats the drum. The job of the drummer is to keep the paddlers inspired to keep paddling through the finish line. And the flag catcher is the person that hangs out on the head of the dragon and grabs the flag at the end of the race. The racecourse is a straight shot between 150 to 200 meters. It is usually a two heat race where the boats go down to the finish line and turn around to do it again in the other lane. Two boats race to see who gets the flag first.
I travel around the Midwest and teach people how to paddle a dragon boat. It is an amazing time! I love dragon boating very much and I wish that every one could have a chance to experience this sport.
