Dragon boating is an integral part of Chinese culture. It represents patriotism and group integrity for Chinese peoples. In ancient time, Chinese peoples used dragon boating for religious purposes as a way to appease the rain gods. Hong Kong tourist association in 1970’s staged International dragon boat event to promote Hong Kong, and in 1991 International dragon boat federation (IDBF) was formed. Since then, federations like (EDBF) and (ADBF) were formed which are governing dragon boating in 60 countries presently. With the formation of IDBF, the sport has rapidly spreading all over the world.
Dragon boating is the fastest growing international water sports today played in teams. Every year, dragon boat races are held in Asia, Australia, Europe, Canada and United States. Dragon boat racing is a team sport which promotes socialization of participants and offer great fun. It is a sport that permits mass participation of people to get enjoyment in the game.
Dragon boats are generally 40 ft long and are made from fibreglass or plywood. The boat is ornamented with a dragon’s head and tail. Each boat holds up to 20 paddlers sitting side by side. There is a sweep who steers the boat and a drummer who beats the drum. Race distances are 250m (short race) or 500m (standard race). Crews are divided into various classes including juniors, premiers and masters.
Dragon boating is a water sport, thus requires comfortable clothing (shorts,3/4 pants, T shirts), shoes (thongs, surf shoes), sunglasses for a person to enjoy the sport. Along with such items a paddler also need to buy dragon boat accessories like dragon boat seat pad, dragon boat paddle bag, paddle blade cover, dragon guard, dragon boat seat pad, and so on. All these accessories are useful to make game comfortable while providing safety to riders.
With the rising popularity of this sport, dragon boat clubs have been formed in many countries. They provide necessary training and conducting dragon boat events for people. Participants must have to buy dragon boat paddles and life jackets to participate in the water sport. Beginners can use such equipment and uniforms provided by a boat club. Dragon boat clubs provide dragon boats to each of their group. People need to register themselves with a dragon boat club for enjoying the water sport. For safety on the water, they also need to follow the instructions given by their coach during the training period.
Apart from fun and enjoyment, playing dragon boating delivers many health benefits. Some of the benefits are increased fitness, help in bridging communication gap, team works, and build strong supportive relationships for lifetime.
It is a demanding physical sport that combines upper body and trunk exercises. Besides the sport being a demanding and exhilarating work, it’s a fun for the participants. Racing in a Dragon boat increases work dynamics, motivation of paddlers, and boosts self-confidence.
As the water sport is catching its popularity at a fast pace, sports paddle manufacturers are offering cheap and affordable accessories to their customers. Customized paddles with beautiful designs and colours can be easily found in the market. Paddles here are made up of carbon fiber with a T- grip at the end which provides comfortable grip to paddlers. Buy a beautiful paddles or other accessories from this portal at affordable prices.
