Preparations are well underway for next month’s International Canoe Federation Dragon Boat World Cup in Yichang, China, which has already attracted crews from around the globe.

The world cup will be held at the national dragon boat training base on Xujiachong Harbor in Hubei Province. Host nation China will be strongly represented, but there have also been entries from several strong dragon boat nations, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong China.

Underlining the global nature of dragon boat racing, there are also entries from the USA, Iran, Ukraine, India Lithuania, Bangladesh and Nepal.

There will be a total of 18 gold medals on offer over the three days of competition, with nine finals each for both 8-paddler and 10-paddler boats. Competition will be held in open, women and mixed categories, with races over 200, 500 and 2000 metres.

The world cup is being organised by the International Canoe Federation, the Chinese Canoe Association, the Hubei Provincial Sport general administration and the Yichang Municipal Government.

Competition begins on June 21 and runs through until June 23. More information, including links to entry forms and the official bulletin, can be found on the ICF’s event page.