Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars, one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of traditional paddled long boats found throughout Asia, Africa, the Pacific islands, and Puerto Rico. The sport of dragon boat racing has its roots in an ancient folk ritual of contending villagers, which dates back 2000 years throughout southern China, and even further to the original games of Olympia in ancient Greece. Both dragon boat racing and the ancient Olympiad included aspects of religious observances and community celebrations, along with competitions.
World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Sports in Hong Kong are a significant part of its culture. Due to British influence going as far back as the late 19th century, Hong Kong had an earlier introduction to Western athletics compared to other Asia regions.
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.
The International Dragon Boat Federation is the international governing body for the sport of dragon boat racing. IDBF was founded in Hong Kong on June 24, 1991 by Australia, China, Taiwan, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States. IDBF currently has 75 member countries or territories and is supported by five continental federations.
The Dragon is a one-design keelboat designed by Norwegian Johan Anker in 1929. In 1948 the Dragon became an Olympic Class, a status it retained until the Munich Olympics in 1972. The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP construction was introduced in 1973 and the rigging has been regularly updated.
The Davis Men's Crew Club is a collegiate sports club representing the University of California, Davis in rowing. As a non-funded team, it is a member of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA), whose participants are mostly of non-Pac-10 schools on the West Coast. Nationwide, the team is one of the most successful collegiate rowing club programs in the United States, making periodic appearances in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championships, the Eastern College Athletic Conference and, more recently, the American Collegiate Rowing Association national championships. Notable alumni include Seth Weil, who rowed in the USA men's coxless four at the 2016 Rio Olympics and who holds two world rowing championship first place titles in the men's four; as well as Carlo Facchino who has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest Pacific Ocean crossing from Monterey, CA to Honolulu, Hawaii with a time of 39 days, 9 hours and 56 minutes.
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.
Richard Wang is a Hong Kong born athlete who has competed for Great Britain and England in sports shooting and Dragon Boat Racing.
2018 in sports describes the year's events in world sport. The main events for this year were the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The All Sports Team Hannover is a dragon boat team of the Hannoverschen Kanuclub v. 1921 e.V. from Germany.
Rubicon Riders Dragon Boat Racing Team (MDBRC) is based in Montreal on the Olympic Basin located in Parc Jean-Drapeau. The RR was founded in 2011 as a competitive U23 team, the first its kind in Quebec. The boat is composed with a mixture of paddlers from Raging Beast (16), Autoboat Beast(3), Kamikaze(1), Boat Rockers (2) and Montreal Mix(2).
The Philippine Dragon Boat Federation is the national team sports federation for dragon boat racing in the Philippines. The Philippine Dragon Boat Federation is one of the founding members of the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) and recognized by the IDBF as the specific Governing Body for Dragon Boat racing in the Philippines. It is also a member of the South East Asian Traditional Boat Federation and the Asian Dragon Boat Federation. It succeeded the Amateur Rowing Association of the Philippines, as the responsible body for handling dragon boat teams in the country.
Grace Elizabeth Prendergast is a former New Zealand sweep rower. She is a 15-time national champion in the premier category, an Olympic champion, a five-time world champion and the current (2022) world champion in the coxless pair. She grew up in Christchurch, where she started rowing for the Avon Rowing Club in 2007. She competed at the Tokyo Olympics in two boat classes and won gold in the coxless pair and a silver in the eight and set a new world's best time in the pair. Various parties, including the World Rowing Federation, expected her to win medals in Tokyo. She was the highest ranked female rower in the world twice in a row in 2019 and 2021. Since 2014, her rowing partner in the coxless pair has been Kerri Gowler. Prendergast is also a Boat Race winner, having competed as part of Cambridge University Boat Club's (CUBC) women's crew in 2022. She retired from professional rowing in October 2022.
The Philippine Army Dragon Boat Team is a dragon boat sports club affiliated with Philippine Army. The sporting team is a member of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation.
The Canadian National Dragonboat Championships is an annual three day competition organized by Dragonboat Canada and held in Ontario, Canada. Dragonboat teams from all over Canada, including Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Halifax, attend this event. There are event categories for University crews (U24), Premiere and Seniors (40+). Races distances include 200m, 500m and 2000m.
The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. athletes have appeared in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which the U.S. boycotted in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The opening ceremony flag-bearers for the United States were baseball player Eddy Alvarez and basketball player Sue Bird. Javelin thrower Kara Winger was the flag-bearer for the closing ceremony. For the third consecutive time in the Summer Olympics, the United States was represented by more female than male athletes (285 men and 330 women).
Berkeley Racing Canoe Center (BRCC) is the umbrella organization for several dragon boat teams in Berkeley, California. BRCC is located in the Berkeley Marina at Dock M, and teams primarily practice within the protection of the 65-acre yacht harbor. Three main teams are currently affiliated with BRCC: DragonMax, Cal Dragon, and East Bay Rough Riders. BRCC teams compete at local, national, and international dragon boat races, including the International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy (2014), Adelaide, Australia (2016), and Szeged, Hungary (2018). BRCC teams also conduct many short-duration dragon boat events for local community groups. BRCC is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Arnold "Capt. A" Balais is an above-the-knee-amputee Filipino paralympic athlete, vocational coordinator, orthotic and prosthetic technician. He is known for being the team captain of the Philippine Accessible Disability Service (PADS) Dragon Boat Team.
