You are considering starting a Dragon Boat team!? We haven’t heard of a better idea in a long time!
What will you need to start your team? As Dragon Boating is a team sport, we would suggest starting there.
How To Find Team Mates
Team mates are everywhere! Colleagues (this would be a great suggestion to help build your company’s team spirit and strengthen work bonds), family members, and friends are all great places to start searching for your Dragon Boat team!
If you are having trouble finding the necessary 20-24 people, why not post an add? Post an advertisement on your social media page, at your gym, in your office or in your community.
Not only will this be a great way to find team mates, but you will also meet some great new people!
A Place To Race
You have a team, now you need a place to practice! To do this you need a Dragon Boat club, preferably in your area (or vicinity that’s easy for your team to get to).
We strongly recommend a Google Search to find this out. Simply search ‘Dragon Boat Club’ and the name of your city. As long as the area you live in has still water, a lake, or slow stream, you will likely find a Dragon Boat club.
You will want to find a club that already has the equipment your team will need to practice and race. Many seasoned paddlers will often purchase their own paddle, but with boats costing upwards of $9,000 you will want to find a club that is already equipped!
Your new club will require a membership fee; you may want to enquire about this before recruiting your team to allow for full transparency about what it will cost them to join your team.
There will also be fees to participate in races.
How to Raise Funds
Most of your fees for races, practices and memberships will come from your team members. However, unless your team happens to be comprised of independently wealthy people who just love to Dragon Boat (and why wouldn’t they!?); you and your team mates will have to do some fundraising.
Fundraising typically happens year-round, which will really allow you to flex your creativity muscles!
There are many amazing ways you and your team can do this! Brainstorm together and try new things as well as rely on some tried and tested ideas.
Bake sales, raffles, carnival games, 50/50 draws and even “Jack & Jill”-esque events are all popular ways to help you and your team fund your new obsession!
Help cut your costs where you can, ask for sponsors to help you pay for team uniforms and maybe shiny new paddles for the whole team (lucky!).
At the very least, paint yourself like a statue and see what comes of it!
Choose A Team Name
This will either be the easiest or hardest part of starting your own Dragon Boat team! How should you pick your team name?
We cannot give you that answer, we can suggest that you make sure the name you choose is not already taken. Social media is a great opportunity for you to find out other team names. Feel free to scroll through our Instagram or Facebook page to help you discover some already taken names!
It’s also a great opportunity for you to like and follow us, keeping you up-to-date will all things Dragon Boat!
If you are having trouble choosing a name, consider your team’s raison d’etre – why did you start the team? What kind of message do you want your name to convey? Maybe you just want to Google fierce sounding team names! The choice is yours!
If you are stuck on what you need to start a Dragon Boat team, be sure to get in contact with us! We’re here for you!