World Championship Races in Sydney

My eyes will be looking to the IDBF website this week, in hopes to finding the news and results of this year's World Championships in Sydney, Australia. "World Championships?!" some may exclaim in surprise. YES, dragon boat IS a legitimate sport, and national teams DO compete for and represent their countries at international events and meets. Just because it is not in the Olympics does not warrant it any less authority on the sports channel. (Though admittedly, I've never heard of a televised dragon boating event, nor do I think they'll be broadcasting this Sydney competition.) BUT one day they will, and dragon boating will have the respect and ranking of sculling!

Anyway, look forward to this weekend's race, and read on below about how the countries stack up:

The countdown to Sydney 2007 has begun and National Teams are gearing up for the 8th World Championships scheduled for the 20-23 September 07, with a warm up festival regatta in Darling Harbour, on 16 September and a Coaching Work shop on the Championship week programme for Tuesday 18 September 2007.

With over 100 crews entered from around the globe, hot racing will be the order of the day on the Penrith Olympic Regatta Course, some 60 kilometres from down town Sydney. Russia will be looking to keep the Nations Cup as the best Premier Team overall but they can expect strong competition in the Premier Woman’s Division from Canada and Great Britain and no doubt Team Australia will be all out to prove themselves tops on home waters too.

China, Macau and the Philippines - medal winners all, in previous World Championships, lead a strong Asian entry, which also includes dark horses Chinese Taipei, plus Japan and Hong Kong. Notably absentees are Singapore and Indonesia both Countries who have competed at IDBF Affiliated Festivals this year and Vietnam. New Zealand are making their first appearance at a WDBRC since Hong Kong in 1997, where they won Bronze and new boys Slovakia, who won Gold at the 2006 European Championships, are a Team to watch in the Premier Open Division, as are the Ukraine Team after their Clubs’ recent showing in the European Club Crew Championships in St Petersburg.

South America will be represented for the first time, when Chile take to the water in the Premier Mixed Division. In the Senior Division 42 crews from 10 Countries will do battle for Championship Medals, including 12 Grand Dragons Crews (the over 50s) racing formally in a World Champs for the first time. In the Junior Division some 23 crews from 7 Countries will make the trip to Sydney, with the Junior Women racing in their own Division for the first time too.

As expected, without the government funding that is taken for granted by the Olympic Sports, the high cost of travelling across the globe has precluded many Teams from competing at the World Champs, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago for example. Lack of funding has also struck the Europeans too, where the Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden, all regular participants in the World Championships, will be sadly missed. But despite this more that 2000 of the best Dragon Boaters in the World will still be chasing the Medals in Sydney, in a feast of colour and muscle power, so why not come along and cheer them on to victory!