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A Short History of Dragon Boating |
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History of the Gorging Dragons |
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1996 – The Gorging Dragons (then known as Team Victoria) become Vancouver Island’s first organized dragon boat team. As there were no dragon boats in Victoria, the team trains in Voyageur canoes. 1997 – A Gorging Dragon team member (working at Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club) arranges to borrow a dragon boat from Vancouver for training purposes. Team goal to compete at the World Club Crew Championships is born. 1998 – The team becomes a registered society and paddling club based out of the newly created Gorge Rowing and Paddling Centre. Gorging Dragon team members begin coaching numerous recreational teams to help grow the sport in the city. 1999 – The team becomes more and more competitive, and begins to finish near, or at, the top of an increasing number of local festivals. 2003 – The team wins Pacific Regional Club Crew Championships to qualify for the 2004 World Club Crew Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. 2004 – The Gorging Dragons take home bronze in both the 250m and 500m competitions at the World Club Crew Championships. 2005 – A Gorging Dragon team member joins Team Canada for the World Dragon Boat Championships in Berlin, Germany, and wins four silver medals and one gold. 2006 – Five Gorging Dragons invited to join other teams for the World Club Crew Championships in Toronto, Ontario. 2007 – The Gorging Dragons qualify for the 2008 World Club Crew Championships. Four Gorging Dragons also join Team Canada for the World Dragon Boat Championships in Sydney, Australia, bringing home six gold medals.
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Dragon boat racing originated in China more than 2000 years ago. The colourful boats and the competition commemorate the life and death of Qu Yuan, a prominent poet and minister of Ancient China who was cast into exile as a result of his politically sensitive writings.
Distraught and inconsolable, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Mi Lor River. Local fishermen raced to the tragic scene in their long, swift boats. To prevent his body from being despoiled by the fish, they splashed their oars and beat their drums to disperse them and threw rice dumplings into the river in attempts to act as a distraction. The tragic event spawned an annual festival, which eventually led to the dragon boat races of today.
In Canada, the first dragon boats appeared in 1986 when the Hong Kong Tourism Bureau donated four boats to the city of Vancouver. By the early 1990s festivals began to appear in many of western Canada’s prominent cities: Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Calgary, Edmonton, etc.
Locally, there are 3 major events: 250m Sprints in May, Vancouver Island Champioships in Aug, and the Victoria Dragon Festival in Aug.
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What is Dragon Boating? |
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Dragon boats resemble large canoes that sit up to 20 paddlers. A steersman, positioned at the back of the boat, uses a large oar to keep the boat on course, while a drummer sits in the front to help the paddlers work in unison.
Dragon boat races can be 200m, 500m, 1000m, or 2000m, though 500m is the most common distance for local festivals here in BC. Top teams like the Gorging Dragons can complete a 500m race in two minutes, or slightly less, while recreational teams can take up to four minutes. |
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Gorging Dragons sprint toward the finish line at the 2007 Victoria Dragon Boat Festival. |
