Lining Up & More

Before you can begin loading a dragon boat, you have to "line-up" your crew. A dragon boat has ten benches. The narrowest are at the bow (front) and stern (back). You must balance your crew in the boat from side-to-side and front-to-back. This CREW LINE UP form will be help you crew know their place, especially if you line-up your team before your first practice.

The crew has three main sections: (1) the strokers, (2) the engine room and (3) the backs.

1. Strokers - the strokers set the pace for the rest of the boat and sit on bench #1. They have to be small and fit so that they can fit in the narrow 1st bench but more importantly they need to be your best paddlers so that they can maintain the stroke cadence throughout the race. Everyone will follow their lead, so they also must be able to keep time throughout the race. The paddlers in rows 2 and 3 should be similar.
2. Engine Room - these are your tallest, strongest, heaviest paddlers. They sit on rows  4, 5, 6 and sometimes 7.
3. Rockets - the boat narrows again toward the stern and the water moves quickly there, making paddling more challenging. Place technically astute paddlers there or those who have difficulty maintaining the cadence.
4. The Drummer - the drummer sits on a seat perched atop the bow. The drum is tied down to the boat between the drummer's knees. The drummer is like a jockey: light in build but in control of a mighty beast! He or she must learn the "start sequence", be able to keep rhythm and to motivate the crew to focus and in stay in synch as they paddle down the lane. DRAGON BOAT RACING IS AN ENDURANCE SPORT, NOT A SPRINT. Winning teams have the best best form.

PADDLING: While paddling, you will look across the boat and up to the paddler two benches ahead (row 5 port to row 3 starboard, row 3 starboard to row 1 port). If everyone follows this system then the paddling will stay in synch with the strokers. Here are a few videos to demonstrate proper technique. 

And after two practices you'll look like these guys!