11th Annual Arizona Festival

Dragons 'Roar' On Tempe Town Lake

AZBW | Mar 15, 20140

count

The 11th Annual Arizona Dragon Boat Festival will be held at the usual location, the SRP Marina at Tempe Town Lake, on March 22 and 23.

The 2014 festival promises to be our best yet as we celebrate our 11th year on Tempe Town Lake. Over the years, we've welcomed hundreds of teams and thousands of paddlers and spectators from all over the United States, as well as from countries such as Canada, China, and Taiwan.

Join the Festival; there is a division for you and your team. There will be full sets of medals - gold, silver, and bronze - awarded.

History of Dragon Boating

Dragon boat origins: Dragon Boat racing as an amateur water sport has its roots in an ancient folk ritual of contending villagers held over the past 2,000 years throughout southern China. While "competition" has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of religious ceremonies and folk customs, dragon-boat racing has emerged in modern times as an international sport, beginning in Hong Kong in 1976.

Chinese Dragon Boat-Shanghai: However, the history of dragon boats in competition reaches as far back as the same era as the original games of Olympia in ancient Greece. Both dragon-boat racing and the ancient Olympiad included aspects of religious observances and community celebrations along with competition.

Similar to outrigger canoe racing, but unlike competitive rowing and canoe racing, dragon boating has a rich fabric of ancient ceremonial, ritualistic and religious traditions. In other words, the modern competitive aspect is but one small part of this complex of water craftsmanship.

Learn About Dragon Boats

IDBF 20 Paddler Dragon Boat: The boats are constructed with a two-part mold. This allows for molded interior features such as non-skid decking, fore/aft foot rests and deep interior hand holds to safely lift the boat.

Construction

The boats are constructed using fiberglass and polyester resin for durability and low maintenance. All boats are made with a *Coremat layer for additional stiffness. Core mat is a layer that is sandwiched between the inner and outer hull.

Asian hard woods are used for the seats and gunwales. This rich and beautiful wood is sustainable and easy to maintain.

Each bench consists of two parts. The bottom layer is molded construction of fiberglass and polyester resin with the actual seating surface constructed of Asian hard wood. The face is angled 5 degrees forward for a more aggressive posture and is fastened with stainless steel screws which allows for easy maintenance.

Swift Racing dragon boats are designed to be fast and stable in the water. They are lightweight, about 550 pounds for the 20-paddler boat and 440 pounds for the 10-paddler boat. Each model is constructed using the same materials and methods and is designed to provide years of service when properly maintained.

The dragon head and tail are constructed of light weight poly resin and are molded construction. Each head and tail is painstakingly painted by hand, using traditional Chinese methods.

Dragon boats are available in a variety of colors. Standard hull and interior color is white. The scales are applied during the molding process using Ashland MaxGuard gel coat. This method produces a scale that is built in to the hull, not applied like a sticker.

Some Statistics

• Model 1222- 20 paddler dragon boat

• Length: 12.4m (40.68 feet)

• Width: 1.16m (3.81 feet, widest point)

• Depth: 0.54m (1.77 feet)

• Weight: 250 kg (550 pounds)

• Material hulls: fiberglass/polyester sandwich, double- hull construction, Coremat*

• Gel Coat: Ashland MaxGuard Gel Coat

• Seats: 10 benches, 5 degree angle, seats 20

• Deck rails: Asian Hard Wood

• Material seats: Asian Hard Wood

• Drum seat: Mahogany