United States Dragon Boat Federation

The United States Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF) is the official national governing body for the sport of dragon boat racing in the United States and has been a Full Member [1] of the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) since 1991. The United States was a Charter Member of the founding of the IDBF in 1990, via the American Dragon Boat Association of Iowa.[2] The USDBF is also a member of the Pan American Dragon Boat Federation (PADBF).[3] It is a volunteer organization.

The USDBF sends a national team to the IDBF World Nations Championships and representative teams to the IDBF Club Crew World Championships. It also organizes US national championships.

Mission

The mission of the USDBF is “To promote the growth and development of dragon boating in the U.S. for fitness, recreation, and team building at all levels of competition.”[4]

Regions & governance

The USDBF is divided into four regions: Pacific, Midwest, Southeastern, and Eastern regions. Each region is governed by its own regional body; these governing bodies are the Pacific Dragon Boat Association of the West Coast (PDBA), the American Dragon Boat Association of the Mid-West (ADBA), the Southeastern Regional Dragon Boat Association (SRDBA), and the Eastern Regional Dragon Boat Association (ERDBA).[5]

Club Crew National Championships (CCNC)

The USDBF holds Club Crew National Championships in September of every other year. A team must have accrued enough points at USDBF-sanctioned races throughout the year to qualify to compete at the CCNC. The champions of the five divisions win berths to represent the US at the following year's IDBF Club Crew World Championships.

USDBF Club Crew National Championships have been held in the following locations:[2]

Year City State
1998 Flushing New York
2000 Philadelphia Pennsylvania
2002 Lake Merritt California
2004 Fort Dodge Iowa
2006 Tampa Florida
2008 Long Beach California
2010 Chattanooga Tennessee
2011 Fort Dodge Iowa
2013 Mercer Lake New Jersey
2015 Lake Arlington Illinois
2017 Mercer Lake New Jersey
2019 Colorado Springs Colorado
2021 Sarasota Florida
2023 Sarasota Florida

National team (Team USA)[6]

As a member of the International Dragon Boat Federation, the USDBF sends a national team ("Team USA") to the IDBF World Nations Championships, held in odd-numbered years.[6] Team USA is organized by the High Performance Committee of the USDBF.[6] Members are individually picked, similar to the Olympic Team USA. The United States competes in all divisions: Junior A (aka U18), Junior B (U16), U24, Premier, Senior A, Senior B (Grand Dragons), and Senior C (Great Grand Dragons).[7] However, the US typically only competes in standard 20-person boats, and as of 2018, has only raced small 10-person boats on the international level in 2011.

The USDBF is also allowed five berths (in each division) to send representative club crews to the IDBF Club Crew World Championships, held in even-numbered years (see CCNC section above).

Selection process

The specifics of different coaches' selection processes differ. However, all coaches use a combination of dry land testing and on-water testing. Attitude, experience, and body weight are also considered.

Coaches

Team USA has had many coaches over the years. Some of them include: Robert "Bob" McNamara, Colleen McNamara, Pete McNamara, Randy Ng, Chris Marquart, Jaimie Richmond, Ellen Law, Pat Bradley, Jeff Kuhn, Joshua Hwung, and Nathan Salazar.

Robert "Bob" McNamara is the most successful dragon boat coach in the United States. The teams he has coached/co-coached have won over 100 IDBF World Nations Championships medals, including 23 gold medals. He has been coaching since 1986.[8]

Hosted IDBF World Nations Championships

The United States hosted the 4th IDBF World Nations Championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2001, and the 10th IDBF World Nations Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida, in 2011.

United States at IDBF World Nations Championships (WDBRC)

The United States has won many medals at the international level; medals standings from the IDBF World Nations Championships (also called the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, or WDBRC) are listed below.

13th WDBRC 2017 (Kunming, China)[9]

Team USA came in 3rd overall in standard boat racing, with Canada taking 1st and China taking 2nd.

The Junior/U24 division races were held in Divonne-les-Bains, France, in conjunction with the European Club Crew Championships. Team USA did not attend.

Boat Type Age Division Number of Gold Number of Silver Number of Bronze
Standard Senior C 0 4 5
Standard Senior B 1 3 6
Standard Senior A 0 1 10
Standard Premier 3 2 4
Total 4 10 25

12th WDBRC 2015 (Welland, Canada)[10]

Team USA came in 3rd overall in standard boat racing, with Canada taking 1st and China taking 2nd.

Boat Type Age Division Number of Gold Number of Silver Number of Bronze
Standard Junior B 0 1 0
Standard Junior A 0 0 2
Standard U24 0 11 0
Standard Senior C 0 1 5
Standard Senior B 0 3 8
Standard Senior A 0 6 3
Standard Premier 2 7 0
Total 2 29 18

11th WDBRC 2013 (Szeged, Hungary)[11]

Team USA came in 6th overall, behind Canada, China, Australia, Germany, and Ukraine.

Boat Type Age Division Number of Gold Number of Silver Number of Bronze
Standard U24 0 0 1
Standard Senior C 0 0 7
Standard Senior B 0 6 2
Standard Senior A 1 4 4
Standard Premier 1 2 3
Total 2 12 17

10th WDBRC 2011 (Tampa, USA)[12]

Team USA came in 1st overall in small boat racing.

Boat Type Age Division Number of Gold Number of Silver Number of Bronze
Small Junior B 4 0 0
Small Junior A 2 1 1
Small U23 1 1 0
Total 7 2 1

Team USA came in 4th overall in standard boat racing, behind Canada, Germany, and Russia.

Boat Type Age Division Number of Gold Number of Silver Number of Bronze
Standard Junior A 0 0 3
Standard U23 0 6 2
Standard Senior B 0 6 3
Standard Senior A 0 4 3
Standard Premier 3 5 1
Total 3 21 12

9th WDBRC 2009 (Račice, Czech Republic)[13]

Team USA came in 5th overall, behind Canada, Slovakia, China, and Singapore.

Boat Type Age Division Number of Gold Number of Silver Number of Bronze
Standard Junior B 2 1 0
Standard Senior B 0 3 2
Standard Senior A 0 1 4
Standard Premier 1 3 2
Total 3 8 8

United States at IDBF Club Crew World Championships (CCWC)

Many different crews have represented the United States at the IDBF CCWCs over the years. Listed below are some of those teams, along with the divisions in which they raced.

11th CCWC 2018 (Szeged, Hungary)[14]

Team Name Hometown Divisions
Dragon Boat Charleston Charleston, SC ACS
Central Coast SurviveOars Morro Bay Morro Bay, CA ACS, BCP
Hope Afloat USA Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA BCP
Oyster Point U16 South San Francisco San Francisco, USA Junior A, Junior B
Lincoln High School San Francisco San Francisco, USA Junior A
Southern Heat The Villages The Villages, FL Senior B, Senior C
WAM (Seattle SAKE) Seattle, WA Senior A, Senior C
Dragonheart Vermont Burlington, Vermont, USA Burlington, VT BCP, Premier
Windy City Dragons Chicago Chicago, IL Senior A
Philadelphia Flying Phoenix Philadelphia, PA Senior A
DragonMax Berkeley, CA Senior A, Senior B, Senior C
Wasabi Paddling Club Portland Portland, OR Premier, Senior A
Team DPW Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Junior A, Premier
Boston 1 Dragon Boat Team Boston, MA Premier
Schuylkill Dragons Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Premier, Senior B
Aero Dragons Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Senior A
Bucks County Dragon Boat New Hope New Hope, PA Senior A
Long Beach Masters Long Beach, California Long Beach, CA Senior A
Northwind San Francisco San Francisco, CA Premier
Los Angeles Racing Dragons Long Beach Los Angeles, CA Premier

10th CCWC 2016 (Adelaide, Australia)

Team Name Hometown Divisions
Space Dragons Long Beach, CA Premier
Ripple Effect Dragon Boat Team San Francisco, CA Premier
Long Beach Masters Long Beach, CA Senior A
Bay Area Dragons Foster City, CA Senior B
Miami Dragon Slayers Miami, FL Premier
Team DPW Irwindale, CA Premier
DragonMax Berkeley, CA Senior C
WAM Senior B
Paddles and Pearls Charleston Charleston, SC BCS
Vancouver Lake Aquatic Center Catch-22 Senior A
Golden Dragons Senior C

9th CCWC 2014 (Ravenna, Italy)[15]

Team Name Hometown Divisions
Dragonheart Vermont Burlington, VT Burlington, VT BCS, Senior B, Senior C
Pink Paddler Power BCS Racine Racine, WI BCS
Windy City Dragons Chicago, IL Chicago, IL Premier, Senior A
Florida Tarpons Miami, FL Miami, FL Premier, Senior A
Wasabi Paddling Club Beaverton, OR Portland, OR Premier, Senior A, Senior C
Philadelphia Flying Phoenix Philadelphia, PA Premier, Senior A
California United Los Angeles Premier
Catch22 NYC New York New York, NY Premier
San Diego Dragon Boat Team La Mesa Senior A, Senior B
Jax Fire Dragons Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville, FL Senior A
Long Beach Masters Long Beach, CA Senior A
DragonMax Berkeley, California Berkeley, CA Senior A, Senior B, Senior C
Schuylkill Dragons Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Senior B
Grand Masters DBC USA The Villages. FL The Villages, FL Senior B, Senior C
Portland Fire Dragons Portland, Oregon Portland, OR Premier
Dragon Boat Club of Boston Boston, MA Premier

See also

References

  1. ^ "International Dragon Boat Federation - IDBF Members". International Dragon Boat Federation - IDBF. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  2. ^ a b "Info - Idbf | United States Dragon Boat Federation". usdbf.org. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  3. ^ Rivera, Carlos L. "Home - Pan American Dragon Boat Federation". www.panamdragonboat.org. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  4. ^ "About - Us - Our - Story | United States Dragon Boat Federation". usdbf.org. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  5. ^ "About - Us - Regions | United States Dragon Boat Federation". usdbf.org. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  6. ^ a b c "About - Us - Team - Usa | United States Dragon Boat Federation". usdbf.org. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  7. ^ "Members Handbook, Part C: IDBF Competition Regulations and Rules of Racing" (PDF). International Dragon Boat Federation. January 1, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association : About". Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  9. ^ Borucki, Sławek. "IDBF WDBRC 2017 Results". IDBF Champs.
  10. ^ Borucki, Sławek. "IDBF WDBRC 2015 Results". IDBF Champs.
  11. ^ Borucki, Sławek. "IDBF WDBRC 2013 Results". IDBF Champs.
  12. ^ Borucki, Sławek. "IDBF WDBRC 2011 Results". IDBF Champs.
  13. ^ Borucki, Sławek. "IDBF WDBRC 2009 Results". IDBF Champs.
  14. ^ Borucki, Sławek. "IDBF CCWC 2018 Results". IDBF Champs.
  15. ^ "CCWC 9". idbfchamps.org. Ravenna. September 3–7, 2014. Retrieved 2023-04-07.