The Irish Dragon Boat Association will be holding the Barrow Dragon Boat Regatta on the River Barrow in Carlow Town on Sunday, 15th June 2014. Teams of up to 17 people are invited to take part, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit.
Dragon boating is an ancient Chinese sport that sees up to 20 paddlers take to the water in a single boat. The traditional boats have a dragon’s head and tail and a drummer sits in the prow of the boat beating out the paddling rhythm. The sport has become increasingly popular in Ireland in recent years with clubs setting up all over the country. Dragon boating is the fastest growing watersport in the world today with over 50 million people participating worldwide.
Speaking today, Julie Doyle, Chairperson, Irish Dragon Boat Association said:
“We are delighted to be welcomed to Carlow to run our dragon boat regatta in the picturesque setting of Carlow Town Park and the River Barrow. We are looking forward to the local rivalry between the teams which makes our regattas a real lively affair. Dragon boating is great as a team building sport and provides a fun way of introducing physical activity into one’s life style.
A huge thank you to Waterways Ireland, Carlow Town Council and Local Enterprise Office Carlow for their support with the event.”
For further information on the regatta please visit our website www.dragonboat.ie or email info@dragonboat.ie.
The Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA) is the Governing Body of the sport of dragon boat racing in Ireland. Initially founded in 2005, the IDBA was formally launched in Dublin in October 2010. The IDBA is responsible for all aspects of the sport from community development through to managing Irish teams racing abroad.
Dragon boating is one of the largest team sports in the world today. Each boat can carry 20 paddlers, a drummer and a helm. The boats are 40 feet long and approx. 3 feet wide and can travel in excess of 4m/second.
Dragon Boating Facts
- Dragon Boating is an ancient Chinese sport which dates back over 2000 years to a time of rivalry, intrigue and corruption. In the third century BC a warrior and poet Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself into the Mi Lo River after corrupt court officials removed him from his high office and banished him from the royal palace.
- Legend tells us that following his death local fisherman took to the water to search for his body and to protect it from being eaten by fish they beat the drums in their boats and hit the water with their paddles. Then to give his spirit food and appease the water dragons they threw rice dumplings into the river.
- From this time onwards the Chinese came to commemorate Qu Yuan’s death by holding a dragon boat festival in his honour.
- The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) is the world-wide Governing Body and the Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA) is responsible for all aspects of the sport in the 32 counties of Ireland.
- Now a member of Sport Accord, the IDBF is on the long journey of trying to get dragon boat racing recognised as an Olympic Sport. Currently the IDBF has 76 member nations of which Ireland is one.
- The sport is currently the second largest in the world with over 50 million participants and involves the greatest number of team members (20+) of any sport.
- Dragon boating can be found in China, Canada, USA, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with the sport now also spreading through the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific Basin. It has truly has become an international sport.
- Attractive to the corporate market as a “team building” activity it is also a high performance sport for elite athletes and attracts a lot of international stars from other paddle disciplines.
