Continuing Our Proud Tradition

Held July 21-23, 2023 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, the 2023 Club Crew National Championships found more than 100 dragon boat teams from across the U.S. competing for berths to the 2024 IDBF Club Crew World Championships.

The top two teams in Small Boat Divisions and top five teams in Standard Boat Divisions received the opportunity to compete from Sept. 3-8 in Ravenna, Italy. Among these crews is SDDBT Women’s B team that earned a berth in the Small Boat Division.

This has been especially rewarding for SDDBT since multiple SDDBT teams were slated to compete at the 2020 IDBF Club Crew World Dragon Boat Championships scheduled for Aix-Les Bains, Riviera Des Alpes, France in August 2020. That event was cancelled due to IDBF’s concerns over the COVID-19 situation.

Know that SDDBT will continue on this path to compete for future bids, with high expectations to once again score the opportunity on this high-profile global stage.

SDDBT is currently seeking donations to help offset team expenses with training and travel. Thank you for any financial support you may be able to provide!

For donations and sponsorship opportunities, contact SanDiegoDragonBoatTeam@gmail.com.

SDDBT is a current member in good standing with the Pacific Dragon Boat Association (PDBA) that represents the U.S. Western Region as part of the United States Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF). Since its incorporation in August 1999, PDBA has attracted membership teams from Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Montana and Nevada.

International Visibility

Every two years, the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) hosts the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, in which each participating country forms a team of the strongest paddlers to compete against other teams from across the globe. While COVID-19 derailed this prestigious event in 2021, the 16th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships took place in Pattaya, Thailand from Aug. 7-13, 2023.

SDDBT was honored to have 18 of its members selected to race in seven divisions representing the United States as part of Team USA.

The process of training and qualifying for Team USA is a very long, complicated and incredibly competitive pursuit that is worthy of recognition. We are very proud to see our SDDBT members shine at the highest level of dragon boat racing in the world.

Count on SDDBT members to be among those representing Team USA again in multiple crews for the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships at Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany from July 16-29, 2025.