Dragon boating first began in Trinidad in October 2016 with the initial gathering of a few schools and corporate teams to get the sport going. Over the years the sport has grown exponentially with other 30 teams participating inclusive of both schools and corporate teams.

The teams typically comprise of two categories of boats, a 10 man squad and a 20 man squad. The standard racing distances at most international events are the 200m, 500m and 2k. Occasionally 1k as well. Of these, the 500m is probably the most signature event since it combines both sprint and strategic aspects.

The 10-man boats were introduced at the World Championships in Tampa, U.S.A. in 2011. The premise was that it gave the newer countries the opportunity to race in a more even playing field than against the more-established countries, which were not allowed to compete in that boat class. Since then however, all countries have been allowed to race in the 10-man boat class at IDBF competitions. It should be noted that the Pan American Club Crew Championships is exclusively a 10-man boat competition.

There are three gender-based racing classes – Open (which is typically all male but can include females), All-female and Mixed (which is designed to achieve a more or less balanced gender ratio).

There are five age categories and all are well-represented at IDBF Competitions:

• Youth (which is usually further divided into U-23s or U-24s and U-16s or U-18s – there is no fixed standard at the moment).
• Premier (which technically is not an age category at all because there are no upper or lower age limits).
• Senior A i.e. 40-plus
• Senior B i.e. 50-plus
• Senior C i.e. 60-plus. The IDBF is currently trying to establish exclusive youth competitions at both World Club Crew and Nations level. 

See our list of local teams/clubs attached: