The club competes in the British Dragon Association league and can promise a fun day of racing for spectators when teams from across the country gather to compete at the Royal Albert dock close to City Airport.
Dragon boat racing is thought to originate in Southern Central China and was founded more than 2500 years ago. Today it is one of the fastest growing team water sports with tens of thousands of participants in over sixty countries worldwide.
Thames dragon boat club was founded in 1993 and has since gone from strength to strength. A dragon boat team consists of 20 paddlers, a drummer and a helm and participants paddle rather than row, the boats are rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails for racing.
The event has a regatta format with qualifying rounds, repecharges, minor and major finals to determine the overall placings at the event; races are typically held over 200m and 500m distances.
Thames Dragon Boat Club is one of the leading clubs in the UK with a competitive, mixed, ladies and open crew. The club trains three times a week at The London Regatta Centre and would welcome people interested in participating in the sport to come and take part in a training session.
