ICF Dragon Boat Commission activities

Demonstration in Hangzhou 

Eight-paddler Dragon Boat demonstration races were held again in Canoe Sprint competition. This time, it came at the ICF Hangzhou Super Cup where eight Dragon Boat races were competed by international athletes on October 12. 

World Games venue assessed 

A test event for Dragon Boat and Canoe Marathon was organised on October 21 and 22 at Xinglong Lake Wetland Park, the venue for The World Games 2025. 

Twelve teams from local clubs and universities competed in the races. The field of play, front of house, back of house and competition schedule were assessed and had been found acceptable at the present stage. Some areas requiring improvement were brought up to the technical meeting afterwards and the follow-up is in satisfactory progress. 

World Cup and World Championships 

October also saw the staging of the ICF Dragon Boat World Cup in Zigui, Yichang, China. The event was held from October 23 to 27 with teams from 14 countries and regions participating. Indonesia and Thailand got the quotas for The World Games 2025. 

In Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines, the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships was staged from October 30 to November 3, 2024, with the participation of teams from 24 nations and regions. This was the first time the World Championships had taken place in Southeast Asia and served as a qualifier for the 2025 World Games. National team participants said that they were proudly representing their countries/regions in this biggest-ever ICF Dragon Boat World Championships. 

Ruse, Bulgaria will be the host the 2025 ICF Dragon Boat Club Crew World Championships. ICF President Thomas Konietzko presented the ICF flag to representatives of Bulgarian Canoe Federation who will host the event from September 18 to 22, 2025 

Congress 

The composition of the ICF Dragon Boat Commission was appointed in the first ICF Board of Directors Meeting after the Congress in Antalya, Turkiye. I have been re-elected as Chair and will work alongside members: Howard Chen of the United States, Ulrike Schreck of Germany, Carole Cheviet of France and Elena Iskhakova of Russia (presently suspended). 

There were also changes to the ICF Dragon Boat competition rules. Among those include the specification of eight-seater dragon boats and crew compositions.  

By Luk Waihung, Chair of the ICF Dragon Boat Commission