BROADWATER DRAGONS PADDLING CLUB

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON OUR ORGANIZATION, AND THE SPORT OF DRAGON BOATING:

The Broadwater Dragons Paddling Club Inc is a dragon boat club based on the Gold Coast.  The Club  was formed in September, 2001, by a committed and enthusiastic team of  experienced paddlers who have had many years in both dragon boats and outriggers.  Their objective was to establish a competitive dragon boat club in order to develop the sport locally and to compete at local, state, national and international regattas.  The Club became incorporated in February 2003, and is a member of the Queensland Dragon Boat Federation, the State body which encompasses the sixteen dragon boat Clubs in South East Queensland and  Northern New South Wales.

Dragon Boat Racing began in China more than 2,000 years ago.  Since that time it has been transformed into a competitive and social sport, in which brightly decorated 12 metre long boats with colourful dragon heads and tails, are filled with twenty energetic paddlers, as well as a drummer and a sweep (a steerer).  Racing occurs over lengths of 250 to 2,000 metres and maintains the ancient traditions of competition, drumming and dragon heads, as well as celebrating river usage.

THE AIM of the Broadwater Dragons Paddling Club is to promote and encourage participation by members of the local community in competitive and/or social dragon boat racing in Brisbane and South East Queensland.

The Club currently consists of 76 members both male and female, with the majority of our members living in the local area-Benowa,  Ashmore, Carrara and Nerang. The Club also regularly competes in regattas from Brisbane to Tweed over the August to April racing season. 

The existence of this Club has not only increased the number of competitive dragon boat teams in South East Queensland, but also allows members of all ages within the local community with a keen interest in water sports to participate.

The BDPC sees the enormous benefits of introducing dragon boating to school age students, and formulated a school based training program in 2004 with the Aquinas College in Ashmore, Gold Coast.  Dragon boating is a sport of total team co-operation, tolerance and understanding, and the positive feedback we have received from the College to date is very encouraging and rewarding.  The Club targets students in the 14 to 17 age bracket, especially the females, as sports participation in this age group is very low. More than 60 students have been involved in our schools dragon boat program to date, and all have achieved their own personal goals from their participation.

BDPC encourages the sport of dragon boating amongst people of all ages-from 14 to 65 years of age- and from all ranges of physical capabilities.  Many of the Club members who are aged in the 45 to 65 years age group have agreed that if they were not participating in dragon boating, they would not be actively involved in any other type of sport.  Once introduced to this sport, they thrive on the comaradery, enthusiasm and competitiveness which this sport offers.  For both their physical and social well being, dragon boating fulfills all their needs. 

The Broadwater Dragons Paddling Club organizes a very successful Corporate/Sports Dragon Boat Regatta at Paradise Point, Gold Coast,  in February and October of each year, with 16 teams entered, catering for at least 450 paddlers, and up to 1,000 people in total, with family, friends and spectators. The main goal of this regatta is to introduce dragon boating to as many people as possible, and to show the Corporate sector the benefits this sport has in regard to team building, health and fitness, and working in harmony whilst having fun.