About the Festival
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Local and regional teams will compete on a 400 meter race course on beautiful Lake Babcock as family and friends cheer the action from the boardwalk at Founders Square. Racing is scheduled to begin at 9 am and conclude at approximately 1 pm.
Spectators are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and come for the day to enjoy the family friendly atmosphere! Founders Square features unique shops and restaurants for plenty of after-race fun. |
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About High Five Dragon Boat
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High Five Dragon Boat, LLC is the producer of the Babcock Dragon Boat Races. As an event management and marketing company, High Five prides itself on bringing together communities to enjoy your local waterways and your fellow community members!
It is the goal of High Five to create an annual event at Babcock Ranch that provides not only a fun community-based event, but also brings more people to experience this unique development. |
About Dragon Boating
With a history of more than 2,500 years, the sport of dragon boating originated in ancient China. The legends include warring states, radical politics and fierce loyalty and passion written poetically by one man - Qu Yuan. This man was exiled from the land that he loved, and in turn committed suicide in the Miluo River in a final form of protest against the corruption of his era. During an attempt to save Qu Yuan, the locals took to the river in their fishing boats, splashing their paddles to keep the water demons and evil spirits away.
Modern day dragon boating has few elements to this ancient tale remaining. However, it has evolved into a worldwide competitive sport, bringing together millions across the globe annually. Festivals with traditional Asian flare and culture are commonplace alongside a dragon boat race in recent years. High level competitions have also been organized since the mid 1970s.
But the sport's growth has been most commonly found at the grassroots level. Dragon boating has become an extremely popular vehicle for fundraising, and tool for corporate team building. Local communities combine these two concepts to breathe new life into their waterfront areas, and to stimulate their local economy.
Teams are formed with people from all walks of life. Any age, size, ability and gender can learn to paddle on a dragon boat team. Twenty (or 10 for small "mini" boats) paddlers are seated in rows of 2 with a drummer sitting in the bow, facing the paddlers.
The paddler's job is to paddle in unison with the entire team. The drummer's job is to beat the drum in sync with the paddlers and to motivate their team to the finish line. A steersperson (provided by the festival) stands in the stern of the boat, guiding the boat straight down the race course with a 10-foot oar.
Modern day dragon boating has few elements to this ancient tale remaining. However, it has evolved into a worldwide competitive sport, bringing together millions across the globe annually. Festivals with traditional Asian flare and culture are commonplace alongside a dragon boat race in recent years. High level competitions have also been organized since the mid 1970s.
But the sport's growth has been most commonly found at the grassroots level. Dragon boating has become an extremely popular vehicle for fundraising, and tool for corporate team building. Local communities combine these two concepts to breathe new life into their waterfront areas, and to stimulate their local economy.
Teams are formed with people from all walks of life. Any age, size, ability and gender can learn to paddle on a dragon boat team. Twenty (or 10 for small "mini" boats) paddlers are seated in rows of 2 with a drummer sitting in the bow, facing the paddlers.
The paddler's job is to paddle in unison with the entire team. The drummer's job is to beat the drum in sync with the paddlers and to motivate their team to the finish line. A steersperson (provided by the festival) stands in the stern of the boat, guiding the boat straight down the race course with a 10-foot oar.
