BOSTON Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Racing on the Charles River
Dragon Boat Racing in boston
Dragon boat racing is an traditional Chinese water paddle sport. It is a 40 foot long canoe-like boat that can weight over 800 pounds. Holding 22 athletes, it requires teamwork, timing, strength, and endurance to bring these boats distances of 100m sprints to 2000m endurance tests.
First held in 1979, the Boston Dragon Boat Festival is the first and oldest dragon boat festival in North America. During our Festival day over 60 teams compete over a 500-meter course in a series of energetic races to the finish line. The teams practice in the spring to prepare for the June races, paddling in sleek, colorful Hong Kong style dragon boats. Teams, from all over North America, compete in sets of 22 athletes to work together in order to bring their team over the finish line first. Our teams come from all walks of life and compete fiercely on the Charles River.
racing information
Come and join the community of dragon boat racing in Boston! You and your team will get the opportunity to practice and race on the beautiful Charles River.
If you have a team that wants to race in Boston in early June, you need to register a team. Registration opens early in the year, generally around the January - February time frame. *2024 event is done. See you in 2025!*
Confirmed racing teams then get to practice in the month of May. Teams get to introduced to how to paddle and how to work as a team to get the boat moving. After the practice month, it all culminates in race weekend. Teams will participate in a time trial that will help seed them for racing on Festival Day. May the fastest team win!
Summer Programs
Once the Festival is done, summer programs are available for interested teams that wish to continue their training to prep for next year or just to enjoy the bonds they made during their racing journey.
The summer session will start around the end of the Festival and last until mid-late August. Summer session are done at a more relaxed pace then the practice month. If you are interested, please sign up here.
If you have a corporate event or group that wish to do a one-time team building event, please contact us at race@bostondragonboat.org to learn more about what services we can provide.
Local Festivals
Dragon boat is a rapidly growing sport, you can find many festivals throughout the country. Give the other festivals a look if you have a team looking to compete in the sport.