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| Location | Teddington |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°25′26″N0°18′36″W / 51.42402°N 0.30998°W |
| Home water | Teddington Lock |
| Founded | 1988 (first raced in 1987) |
| Affiliations | British Dragon Boat Racing Association |
| Website | www.kingstonroyals.com |
| Distinctions | |
| British Dragon Boat Racing Association Champion Club 2009 | |
| Notable members | |
| Jock Wishart | |
Kingston Royals Dragon Boat Club is based in Teddington on the non-tidal Thames.
The club was founded in 1988 as the dragon boat racing section of the Royal Canoe Club (RCC), among the inceptive wave nationally. The section was formed from a mixture of RCC members and members of Kingston Rowing Club. The club obtained one of the original teak racing boats brought into the country by the Hong Kong Tourist Association to promote dragon boating in the UK. This boat now donated to a club in Germany, was used for racing and training before the introduction of the new glass fibre racing boats.
The club began competing in the Far East mainly and by 1990 was the first European team to get to the finals of any competition.
In the 1990s, the club never finished below second in any event it entered at the British National Cup; in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1998 it completed a "pinkwash" (named for the club's distinctive club colour)[ citation needed ] of wins in the Open, Mixed and Women's events. Leading members left and four poor years occurred including no races won in 2001 and one British Dragon Boat National League event win for 2002. Momentum restored, and the club is now racing at the highest level of UK racing since promotion to the Premier Division of the British Dragon Boat National League at the end of 2003.
Kingston Royals often represented Great Britain before the GB teams selection system. The club continues to make selection to the GB teams and a number of club paddlers have regularly represented the country at European and World level. The club celebrated its 20th birthday in October 2008 in a position as Britain's most successful dragon boat club, having won 33 of the 66 national titles thus far of the British Dragon Boat Racing Association.
The Great Britain's Women's coach is based at the club and coaches the club crews.
The club won the British Dragon Boat Racing Association Champion Club award in 2009.
In recent years, the club has re-climbed the National League standings to second: achieved in 2008 and 2009. In 2006 and those years the club won the Women's and Mixed events at the British National Cup.
The club's second crew, known as the Kingston Pretenders and originally an occasional crew, won the Open Plate competition in 2006 and 2009, and was the only secondary crew in the Open Cup competitions in the 2008 National Cup.
The club now runs teams for both men and women and for beginners to international racers.
In 2007, the club's being a section of the RCC, the first canoe club to be founded in Britain, formally ended following a reorganisation of the RCC. Kingston Royals officially became a separate club. However, the Club continues to be based at the RCC site in Teddington and links between the two organisations remain strong.
| Main disciplines | |
|---|---|
| Olympics | |
| Other disciplines | |
| ICF championships |
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| Recreation | |
| Modern boats | |
| Traditional boats | |
| Techniques | |
| Equipment | |
| Venues | |
| Competitions | |
| Festivals | |
| Governing bodies | |
| Other organisations | |
| Media | |
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race in England. The race is held every Easter over a course of 125 miles (201 km) from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster in central London. It has been run since 1948. Starting at Devizes wharf, the route follows the Kennet and Avon canal for 54 miles to Reading, where it joins the Thames. Another 54 miles later it reaches Teddington Lock, ending 17 miles later at Westminster Bridge.
The Royal Canoe Club (RCC), founded in 1866, is the oldest canoe club in the world and received royal patronage in the 19th century. The club promotes canoeing and kayaking, focusing on flatwater, sprint and marathon disciplines. Members of the club have represented Great Britain at World Championships and the Olympic Games. The club is based at Trowlock Island on the River Thames in Teddington near London. The premises are also used by Walbrook Rowing Club, The Skiff Club and Kingston Royals Dragon Boat Racing Club.
The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival or Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival takes place every June on the waters and shoreside of False Creek in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is North America's largest and most competitive dragon boat festival with over 200 crews competing from around the world, with roots stemming from Expo 86. The Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival is run by the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society.
Hampton School Boat Club (HSBC) is the rowing club of Hampton School. Each year the club produces 1st VIIIs that compete at Championship level in the United Kingdom. The club hosts two Head race events each year.
Kingston Rowing Club (KRC) is a rowing club in England founded in 1858 and a member club of British Rowing.
Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing a Thames skiff. The skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways in England and other countries since the 19th century. Sculling is the act of propelling the boat with a pair of oars, as opposed to rowing which requires both hands on a single oar.
Guernsey participates in its own right in the Commonwealth Games.
The Skiff Club is the oldest skiff and punting club in existence, having been founded in 1895. It is based on the River Thames in London, on the Middlesex bank between Teddington Lock and Kingston upon Thames.
The Skiff Championships Regatta is the premier skiff racing regatta on the River Thames in England. It is held annually at Henley on the Sunday of August Bank Holiday weekend.
Walbrook Rowing Club, colloquially sometimes named Teddington Rowing Club, is a rowing club, on the River Thames in England on the Middlesex bank 800 metres above Teddington Lock next to Trowlock Island, Teddington. It is the lowest club on the weir-controlled Thames and is the organising club for Teddington Head of the River Race held in November for all classes of racing shells.
The British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA) is the UK governing body for dragon boat racing as a sport and recreation, recognised by the UK Sports Council and a member of the Sport Alliance, Water Recreation Division.
Liam Heath is a British sprint canoeist. He is the most successful British canoeist at the Olympics with a total of four medals; he won a gold medal in the individual 200m kayak sprint event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a bronze in the 2020 Olympics, as well as a silver in the men's double with Jon Schofield in 2016. and a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics in the K-2 200 with Schofield.
The Raging Dragons are a dragon boat club based in London, UK. The club trains on the Royal Albert Dock at the London Regatta Centre.
Annie Lush is an English sailor. She was born in Poole, Dorset.
Jon Schofield is a British canoeist. He partnered with Liam Heath in the men's kayak double 200m sprint event, and they have won a bronze in K-2 200 at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and a silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the same event. They have also won gold at the European Championships three times as well as silver and bronze medals at the World Championships.
Great Britain, or in full Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016 and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. British athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, alongside Australia, France, Greece, and Switzerland, though Great Britain is the only country to have won at least one gold medal at all of them. The team represented the United Kingdom, the three Crown Dependencies, and the thirteen British Overseas Territories, ten of whom sent representatives.
Great Britain, or in full Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the team of the British Olympic Association (BOA), which represents the United Kingdom, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
