2009 Festival Information
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Couchiching Beach Park

Registration Begins 7:30
Races Begin 8:00 am
Opening Ceremonies 10:00 am (after first heat)
Ribbons of Hope Ceremony 10:15 am
HRC Challenge Cup/HRC Forget Me Not Ceremony 12:30 (after second heat)

2009 Race Schedule

Dragon Boat Festivals

The theme of a Dragon Boat Race Festival is a simple and solemn one: Teamwork and unity. Come and be part of this 2400-year-old tradition, which has become one of Canada's fastest growing sports. Let us as a community meet the challenge of working in perfect harmony. For the past several years during the summer months, communities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, Regina, Winnipeg, London, Stratford, Waterloo, Guelph and Woodstock have hosted Dragon Boat Festivals as highly successful community events. We are proud to be hosting the fourth Annual Dragon Boat Festival in the City of Orillia on Saturday September 26, 2009.

While dragon boat racing has its roots in Chinese tradition, these festivals have come to be celebrations reflecting Canada's multi-cultural heritage. They create a friendly yet competitive atmosphere for participants to match their abilities and test their skills in dragon boat racing. The fundamental objective of a Dragon Boat Race Festival is to strengthen community spirit. It also galvanizes its citizens to demonstrate their organisational talent and resources in hosting a major recreational and cultural event.

The event will present an opportunity for citizens to actively participate in a major recreational and cultural event that will make us all proud. The coming together and support of our civic leaders, governments, businesses, sponsors, donors, volunteers and various organisations is imperative to make the Dragon Boat Race Festival a successful community event.

What is a Dragon Boat Festival?

Various communities have organised and hosted dragon boat races as a summer recreational event and a celebration of Canada's rich multi-cultural mosaic. The primary focus of the event is the parade of colourful dragon boats, the competitive atmosphere of the races, and the cheers of the spectators. The teams, trainers, spectators and supporters will bring many individuals to the race site.

During the event spectators will be able to enjoy dragon boat racing, cultural and commercial exhibits, participate in children's activities and enjoy the picturesque surroundings of beautiful Couchiching Park.

What is Dragon Boat Racing?

Dragon Boats are the largest flat water racing canoes in the world. For competition each boat is fitted with a dragon's head at the prow and a tail at the stern, decorated in traditional Chinese colours. The boat seats a crew of 20 paddlers, plus a steersperson and a drummer who sits or stands at the dragon head to beat the paddling rhythm for the crew. The paddles are much shorter than canoe paddles, allowing a very swift stroke rate compared to other types of rowing or paddling. Top speed only comes with a well-timed stroke of the blade hitting the water.

The goal is to generate enough speed to cause the boat to rise high and smooth above the water by a cresting wave from beneath the bow. A perfectly synchronized team is not only visually spectacular but almost always defeats a stronger, less coordinated competitor. It is a spectacular and colourful sight to see the dragon boats splashing through the water with the drums booming amid loud encouragement from the spectators.

The Orillia Dragon Boat Race

The dragon boats race over a course that is 300 meters in length. Three to four boats generally race against each other in the qualifying heats and in the final races. Typically, a seasoned Dragon Boat team will have a stoke rate of 70-80 strokes per minute and can travel over the water at three to four meters (10-13 feet) per second. From start to finish, each race takes about 1 to 2.5 minutes to complete, depending on the proficiently of the team. The winner of each qualifying heat will advance to the next race.

Dragon Boats

The boats for the festival will be leased from an event marketing company in Hamilton. The boats are complete with paddles, life jackets and drums. While four boats compete in each race, another four boats will load up for the next "heat", thereby eliminating the down times between races.

Note: This year the Festival will provide a steersperson for the event, at no cost to your team, if you do not have your own steersperson.