How dragon boating from a cultural watersport became a popular sport today?

Dragon boat racing is the most popular activity which is done during the dragon boat festivals. The sports have been held for 2000 years throughout the china. In ancient China, the dragon boat was used for religious purposes as a way to appease the rain gods, but today dragon boating has become the popular sport in many countries.

About the dragon boat

Dragon boat is deeply embedded in China’s Dragon culture. A dragon boat consists of ornately carved dragon’s head at the bow and a tail in the stern. The hull is painted with dragon’s scales, and the paddles symbolically represent the claws. In dragon boat racing there are 18 to 20 paddlers, a steer’s person, and a drummer, they all together form a team and compete with other team members. Races are held over distances from 200 to 2000 meters. To play the sport team members need strength, endurance, skills and a good teamwork.

Dragon boating today

In the 1970s, the Hong Kong tourist association decided to stage an International dragon boat festival to promote Hong Kong, after which in 1976 first Hong Kong international races took place. Later with the formation of international dragon boat federation (IDBF) in 1991, there formed other federations like European (EDBF) and Asian (ADBF), and these three federations today govern and conduct Dragon boating in 60 countries.

Since the formation of IDBF, the sport has rapidly spread throughout the world. Today with 50 Million participants in China, 3 lakh participants in UK, Europe, Poland, and Russia the water sport has worldwide become very popular.

Dragon boating is for all ages and abilities

Dragon boating is a team sport and a great fun too! It is also a high standard sport for elite standard athletes. It’s a sport and recreational activity that can be pursued by everyone and any age group people.

Looking at the popularity of the sport today, many clubs have formed who conduct dragon boating for common people. They always welcome new paddlers of any age group, fitness level. Participants need to register themselves with a club and buy dragon boat paddles to practice and enjoy the water sport.

Dragon boating is a water sport, so paddlers can get wet thus they need to have comfortable clothing (shorts, ¾ pants and t-shirts), shoes and sunglass so as to prevent themselves from getting wet. For the protection of their paddles they can even buy dragon boat accessories like paddle blade covers, paddle carry bag, blade tip guard etc. Cary bags help them to carry their boat paddles to longer distances.

Benefits of dragon boating

Benefits of dragon boating can be divided into three categories, fitness, team building and physiological health benefits. Dragon boating is a physically demanding activity that combines upper body exercises. It increases paddler motivation, improves communication and boosts self-confidence. Dragon boating provides its members with a relaxed atmosphere, reduces stress and improves self-esteem.

Looking at increasing demand of the sport, sports paddle manufacturers today are offering cheap and affordable boat paddles to their customers. These boat paddles are made up of carbon fibers and also have a T-grip at the ending, which provides perfect grip to paddlers. Contact us to buy top quality dragon boat paddles at affordable prices.