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What Is Dragon Boat Racing?
Dragon boating is experiencing a tremendous surge in interest throughout the community, for a number of reasons. Events primarily attract mixed teams from corporations, sporting teams, community and neighbourhood groups, small to medium sized businesses and even extended family groups.Some fast facts;
- Dragon boats are the largest flat-water racing canoes in the world.
- Boats are decorated with dragon heads and tails for races.
- A crew consists of 20 paddlers, a drummer at the bow and guided by a steersperson at the stern.
- Races take place at 200m, 500m 1000m and 2000m distances.
- A perfectly synchronized team is visually spectacular and nearly always defeats a stronger, less coordinated team!
- The crew are divided into left and right paddlers.
- The middle 8 paddlers are the "engine room" for the boat.
- The drummer sits at the front of the boat facing the paddlers.
- The sweep guides the boat from the rear position.
The Drummer
The drummer or leads the crew throughout a race with the rhythmic beating of a drum and usually issue commands to the crew to ensure that they are performing at their peak. A drummer is mandatory during racing events, but if he or she is not present during training, it is typical for the steerer to direct the crew.
The Crew
The paddlers or crew, sit facing forwards and use a specific type of paddle. The leading pair of paddlers, called "strokes" set the pace for the team. It is critical that all paddlers are synchronized. Each paddler should synchronize with the paddler diagonally in front of them. This ensures that the paddling pace is balanced and all energy is spent on moving the boat forward. The direction of the dragon boat is set by the helm, not the paddlers. The strokes are responsible for synchronizing themselves.If paddlers are not synchronized, each successive pair of blades hits the water a fraction of a second behind the blades in front of them. To an onshore observer, this effect resembles the movement of a caterpillar or centipede; thus, a coach may discipline a team for "caterpillaring." During a race, it can be difficult to stay in sync as the sounds of other drums make it confusing or unreliable to time off the drumbeat.
The Sweep
The sweep controls the dragon boat with a steering oar similar in function to a tiller, which is mounted at the rear of the boat.
The sweep may work with the drummer to call out commands during a race. The responses of the oar are opposite to the direction they take - if the sweep pulls the oar right, or into the boat, the boat will turn left, and if they push out, or left, the boat turns right.
During a race, an experienced sweep will be able to steer the dragon boat effectively according to the wind, the wake of other boats, and other factors to achieve optimum speed.
The sweep must constantly be aware of the boat's surroundings and has the power to override the caller at any time during the race (or the coach during practice) if the safety of the crew is threatened in any way.
(Acknowledgments to Wikipedia)
Brisbane River Dragons
Dragon Boat and Outrigger Canoe Club
Inc. 2009