Racing

As much as Dragon Boating is a wonderful recreational activity, it also is a competitive team sport.

Dragon Boat New South Wales (DBNSW) hosts an annual Regatta Series (Race 1 - 4) each season, concluding with the DBNSW State Championships, all held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.

The DBNSW Regatta Series are 200 m or 500 m across the divisions.

Other racing competitions are held from 200 m upwards and on a variety of different types of courses such as lakes, rivers, harbour areas and the ocean. Some events are long distance such as the 8 km Bei Loon Newport Challenge.

The Dragonboat season finishes with the Austration Championship (AusChamps) held by AusDBF at a different venue across Australia each year.

Categories

Opens – Usually an all male crew but there are no restrictions on crew composition
Women – All female crew. The drummer and sweep (steerer) must also be female
Mixed – Standard 20’s crew can have a minimum 5 male paddlers to a maximum of 10 male paddlers (excluding drummer and sweep)

Divisions

Premier "Prems" – 12 years and up 
Senior A – 40 years and up
Senior B – 50 years and up
Senior C – 60 years and up

You can race in a division "younger" than your age, but not older (eg a 42 year old can race Senior A and race 'down' in Prems, but not Senior B or C)

Boats

We race in 10s and 20s boats - as the names imply, the capacity of the boat can be 10 paddlers or 20 paddlers (excluding drummer and sweep)

Regatta Day

A regatta day is full of fun and excitement!

We usually arrive around 7am to set up our area, grab that first coffee and attend captain’s briefings.

Races start around 8.00 am and continue into the late afternoon.

It is a busy day and we eat lightly (drink lots of coffee) as we need to be ready to go as we are called up for each race.

Dragon Boating is highly competitive and tightly contested so there is no room for a bad race. Each and every race counts. While it is a competitive sport, there is an amazing spirit and camaraderie among all teams and competitors.

The dragonboat community is a group of people who just love to see others getting involved and having a go.

The Northern Beaches Dragon Boat Club has a long and proud history and we love to be on top of the ladder.

Regatta Schedule

Please visit the Events page to find out about the upcoming regattas the club has selected to participate in.

For a full regatta schedule please visit the DBNSW Events page.

Want to Race?

If you wish to race you must

• be a Registered Paddler.
• have a Dragon Boats NSW ID card. Please send through a head and shoulders photo to our Club Registrar as soon as you have joined the club to allow for processing time.
• have a Team Uniform. You can order your uniform at our merchandise shop Click Here.