Never heard of Dragon Boating?

A typical Dragon Boat crew involves teams of up to 20 paddlers in a 40 foot boat with a drummer and helm.  In order to race, each boat is required (by the governing body) to have a head and tail at respective ends of the vessel.   

The sport originated in ancient China where the Dragon Boat was used for religious purposes as a way of appeasing the rain gods. Later Qu Yuan, the great warrior poet, committed suicide in the river Mi Lo, as a protest against the political corruption of the day. To commemorate this sacrifice the people began to organize Dragon Boat Races in his memory. Since that time over 2000 years ago, Dragon Boat Racing has become a major part of Chinese culture, representing patriotism and group integrity

Three River Serpents (3RS)

3RS was one of the first clubs in the country to be formed (originally known as the Tyne & Wear Dragon Boat Association).  Three Rivers represent the Tyne, Wear and Tees, which was the original catchment area for the club.  With a grant from the Tyne & Wear council they had at least three boats built in Hebburn by Hawthorn Leslie's apprentices.  The first boat the club had was the Andrew Leslie and is still operational on Windermere in the Lake District.  Two of the other boats are at the Amathus Club on Merseyside.

The club has a history of traveling abroad, with visits including Vancouver, China, Penang, Totonto, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan and India.   In 1992 we were asked by the BDA to represent GB in China.  Juijang had never allowed Western people in before and the BDA wanted a crew who could act as ambassadors for the country.

Dragon Boat racing first featured competitively in the UK in September 1980 at the Hong Kong in London Chinese festival.  Races held on the River Thames were won by the Richmond Canoe Club in both the Men's and Women's classes.  In 1981 racing featured in the World Canoe and Kayak Racing Championships, held at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham.  The formation of the DBRC (Dragon Boat Racing Club of Great Britain) in June 1985, was the first serious attempt to organise the sport on a national scale in the British Isles.  Using the three Hong Kong wooden boats imported for the London festival in 1980, the DBRC raced fairly regularly during 1986/87 and, with the support of the HKTA, built the first fibre-glass dragon boat in the country.

In 1986 and early 1987 specialist Dragon Boat groups were formed in Sheffield, Liverpool and Tyneside (although none of them had dragon boats at this stage).  In July 1987, following an initiative by the DBRC, these groups came together to form the British Dragon Boat Association - the BDA, which was formally constituted as the governing body for the sport of Dragon Boat racing in the UK.

Dragon Boat racing made its debut on the BBC TV's 'Blue Peter' programme, in May 1986 when a dragon boat was raced from London to Nottingham via the canal system by a crew of soldiers in aid of charity.  The crew paddled 180 miles (including 180 portages for canal locks) in 9 days and raised over £4000 for Sport Aid en-route.  Clive Hole (a founder member of 3RS and still our our racing helm today) sometimes can be seen wearing a green 'Duncan Dares' T-shirt!

Recent 3RS info

More recently, 3RS has grown from strength to strength, collecting many new members along the way.  In particular, at the end of 2005 many paddlers had completed their first season with the club, with more experienced paddlers leading the way.  There have been many personal achievements by specific individuals over the past years, but most noteworthy is the International success enjoyed by some of our own members:

Keni Mayes, Becks Lippe and Susie Turner were part of the 2004 GB Premier Ladies Crew which won the 500 m World Championship GOLD against the Chinese on their own doorstep in Shanghai.   The 3RS were represented in last year's World Championships in Berlin and training is underway for 2006 selection trials this coming July...  John Wennington and James Anderson have also competed with the GB Men's Senior squad, as well as a number of serpents competing in the 2004 European Championships, held in Teeside.  In addition, some of the Serpents are active outrigger paddlers, competing, training and touring with OCUK, based down in London.  

The club is currently bidding for National Lottery funding through an Active for All grant application.  If successful, this will facilitate the purchase of a new race boat and kit.  The advancement of our club is an integral part of the 3RS philosophy.  We work hard to reach different sectors of the community in our promotion of the sport.  The Three River Serpents encompasses disabled and BME groups, has an age range from 11-68 (?) and has hosted many events for different community groups.

We also host corporate events, further information can be found on our Corporate&Funding page.

Useful links

http://www.dragonboat.org.uk/    British Dragon Boat Association

http://www.gbdragonboating.sportcentric.com/    Great Britain Premier Women's Dragon Boat Team

http://www.idbf.org/     International Dragon Boat Federation

http://www.2006ccwc.com/     2006 Toronto IDBF Dragon Boat Club Crew World Championships official website

Come and join us!

If  you would like to try Dragon Boat racing please .  You do not need any special equipment, or to have tried water sports before!  All you need are old trainers and kit (which may get a bit wet), a bottle of water, and it does help if you're a bit mad with this crew (from experience).  We offer two free taster sessions to prospective new members, so please Contact us and we'll let you know the best session for you to come along to!