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Dragon boat racing is a team paddling sport where the participants use a dragon boat, a traditional Chinese long boat with up to 20 paddlers.

This sport originated in ancient folk rituals of contending villagers, and competitions have been held for around 2000 years in the southern part of China. In dragon boat racing competitions, the dragon boats are rigged with Chinese dragon heads and tails. In some competitions, the decorative designs are removed, but the drums remain.

Dragon boat racing is practiced around East Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been part of the Asian Games.

Usually the crew of a dragon boat team comprises of 22 members, 20 paddlers, 1 drummer, and 1 steerer, though the number of paddlers can vary from 10 up to 50.

A race is usually a sprint event. The most common distances are 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 meters. The races for a 2000-meter race are usually held on a 500-meter course.

Dragon boat competitions at the international level are usually organized by the International Dragon Boat Federation.

Similar Sports

• Sprint Canoe — sprint canoe racing on flat water over distances from 200m to 5000m.
• Outrigger Canoeing — racing using a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull.
• Canoeing — paddle sport in which the rider kneels or sits facing forward in a canoe.
• Polish Dragon Boat Racing — aka "tug of oars" or "dragon war", in which teams of paddlers sit facing each other in a dragon boat, and attempt to paddle toward each other.
• Kayaking — boat races using a small, narrow boat propelled using a double-bladed paddle

Related Pages

• There was also a demonstration of Dragon Boat Racing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
• Dragon Boat Racing has been part of the Asian Games
• About Paddling Sports
• Complete list of sports
• The unrelated but similarly named sport of Drag Boat Racing
• About sport in China