Dragons

A dragon boat is a very long and narrow human-powered boat used in the team paddling sport or dragon boat racing which originated in the country of China.

For racing events, dragon boats are always rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. At other times the decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for training purposes. Dragon boat races are traditionally on the day of the Duanwu Festival, also known in English as the Dragon Boat Festival, making dragonboating the only sport to be celebrated as a national holiday.

The Chinese calendar date is the fifth day of the fifth month, which usually corresponds to a date in June. The oldest International Festival Races are those held in Hong Kong annually. The HKIR have been held since 1976 and are acknowledged as starting the modern era of the dragon boat sport.

The biggest dragon boat festival racing events outside of Asia are in Europe, particularly in Malmö, Sweden and in the USA and Canada. Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal each host races featuring more than 180 25-person crews. These races take place over two days in mid-to-late June in correspondence with the 5th Day of the 5th Month custom.