Welcome to the site of the European Dragon Boat Federation
the governing body for the water sport of dragon boat racing in Europe.New Lithuanian Federation Looking for Boats
30 January 2010 - The Lithuanian Dragonboat Federation is looking to acquire reasonably-priced used boats and
paddles to help with the newly formed clubs in Lithuania. They are looking
for four 10-person boats (IDBF 912 standard) and for four 20-person boats
(IDBF 1222 standard) and 50 used 202a paddles. If your organization has used
boats for sale, please contact Saulius Suveizdis, the president of the
Lithuanian Dragon Boat Federation at info
eastcon.lt.
Free websites for EDBF-affiliated organizations
5 January 2010 - Any championship organizer who has won the right to hold an EDBF championship regatta is reminded to contact Henning Wiekhorst, the IDBF webmaster, to set up a championships webpage within the domain of edbfchamps.com. Please do not register your own domain! For more information mail wiekhorsthenningmac.com.
Dragon Boat World International Special Offer
Local news & discounted subscriptions
5 January 2010 -
The prices and conditions have been agreed with the IDBF to assure that every national federation can receive the same benefits and read as follows:
- The one year subscription (4 issues) for 19,--EURO (24.--USD) less 18% IDBF-discount = 15,60 EURO (19.70 USD)
- The two year subscription (8 issues) for 35,--EURO (45.-- USD) less 18% IDBF-discount = 28,70 EURO (36.90 USD)
- All subscriptions from the publisher will be shipped to one shipping address from which you should further distribute domestically.
- You are entitled to take subscriptions as long the magazine is not sold at a higher price than the published price.
- Not a condition, but you are strongly recommended to pass a portion of the discount on to your members. If you give 10% you might have to take a minor portion of postal costs, but in turn you give a high value benefit to your members.
For more information or to place your order mail the publisher, Henning Wiekhorst, at wiekhorsthenningmac.com. Subscriptions must be paid in full before your order will be shipped. Payment is possible online, via credit card, check or bank transfer.
European Championships 2010 information available
5 January 2010 - With August 2010 rapidly approaching, more information about the European Nations Championship in Amsterdam, The Netherlands has been released.
The official invitation, information bulletin number one and the provisional entry form have been released.
For more information, also check www.enc2010.com.
Brief report on EDBF AGA and Council 2009
8 December 2009 - The EDBF Council and Annual General Assembly meetings took place in Amsterdam on 14 November. Highlights from the meeting follow.
Championships:
Members of the EDBF were taken on a tour of the Bosbaan regatta course, site of the 2010 European Nations Championships. In spite of gray November skies and pouring rain, the delegation was impressed by the facilities on offer. The 2010 ENC organizing committee has arranged 1000 beds in nearby hotels and will look into reserving group accommodations at the Amsterdamse Bos camping area and bicycle rentals for the short cycle-ride between the camping area and the race course. The first information bulletin, with preliminary registration information for national crews, should be appearing shortly.
Ukraine presented plans for the 2011 European Club Crew Championships to be held in Kiev between 24-28 August 2011 and will be allowed to proceed pending a satisfactory site inspection to be held during Golden Dragon in mid-September 2010. Crews are invited to attend the September 2010 festival in Kiev to see the location and organization for themselves. Czech Republic presented a backup plan for the championship in Brno in the Moravian part of the Republic. Impressed by the plan, the Board urged Czech Republic to submit Brno as a future championship location.
Germany submitted a bid intention for hosting the European Nations Championships in 2012 in Hamburg. Additionally, Mike Haslam mentioned that there is project team from the IDBF busy organizing a youth dragon boat championship in London in 2012.
Elections:
Mike Haslam was nominated for re-election to the post of EDBF President, Alan van Caubergh was nominated for re-election to the post of EDBF Chairman and Bernd Riegerl volunteered to fill the post of Council Representative. The Council approved the nominations and approval by the general membership will take place in August.
Annual General Assembly meeting date changed:
Country representatives should reserve 12 August 2010 for the next AGA meeting in Amsterdam, from 11:00-15:00. The AGA has been moved to coincide with the annual EDBF championships in order to make it easier for paddlers to participate in the business of the EDBF. (Council representatives will meet on 11 August, from 18:00-20:00.)
Update from the IDBF & EDBF:
Mike Haslam & Alan van Caubergh reported that the IDBF and EDBF have been working hard to defend the interests of dragon boat paddlers around the world. While there has been continuing pressure on the sport from a small faction within canoeing in some countries, the number of paddlers competing in IDBF and EDBF championships continues to grow and the quality of the competitions is high. The recent World Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, saw the Philippines set a record-breaking time of just over 40 seconds in the 200m, while China took the World Cup for overall best performance. On the domestic front, the European Club Crew Championship set another attendance record with over 1500 paddlers coming to the very professionally-organized race hosted by the Hungarian Dragon Boat Federation in Budapest.
In spite of the global financial crisis, there have been new events and new countries joining the EDBF family. Alan travelled to Istanbul this summer for a large db festival which is spreading the dragon boat virus throughout Turkey, with new crews and festivals being formed for the 2010 season. Lithuania has also recently been infected with the dragon boat bug and is planning on scaling up from business teams to full-fledged sports racing and has applied for membership in the EDBF. Our members in France and Denmark have also been active in promoting dragon boat racing on the African continent. A cooperative effort between dragon boat and canoe in Senegal is being spearheaded by the French DBA and the AIPSF (Association of International Paddle Sports Federations) rafting member from Denmark has been instrumental in bringing dragon boat in contact with the newly-formed Ghana Rafting and Dragon Boat Federation. The main message that Mr. Haslam had for EDBF members is that in spite of challenges posed by the canoe federation, the EDBF and IDBF are alive and healthy with the best-attended, highest-quality dragon boat competitions on international, continental and local level. "While any other sport, even football, may do something with dragon boat racing, the IDBF is the only federation that is solely dedicated to serving the interests of all dragon boat paddlers, no matter what other sports they may compete in. We do not have to divide our attention or resources with other disciplines and can concentrate 100% on the dragon boat sport," says Haslam.
Appreciation
David Cogswell of GB, who has long served in the EDBF, most recently as Member´s Representative, has retired from the Board. His knowledge and hard work has been appreciated over the years and will be missed. Additionally, another of our English gentlemen has also announced his intention to reduce his activities with dragon boat: Murray Jones. Murray has been a regular contributor to the EDBF meetings, often serving as the representative for GB. He is also an IDBF race official. The delegates to this year´s AGA made a special vote of appreciation for their long service to the dragon boat sport.
November 2009 issue of DBI now available
8 December 2009 - The November 2009 issue of Dragon Boat International, the IDBF Newsletter, is now available for download.
The Other Path to Victory
Report on site visit to Kiev, Ukraine
19 October 2009 - The Ukrainian Dragon Boat Federation bid to hold the 9th European Club Crew Championships in 2011. Although Ukraine hasn’t held a European or regional championship before, the EDBF AGA provisionally awarded the bid to Ukraine, giving the Ukrainian DBF a sign of good faith and time to prepare a more in-depth plan for the championships. As part of the process leading up to the championship, the EDBF sent a delegation to Kiev to visit the Golden Dragon Festival on 12 September and inspect the proposed venue.
Ukraine is looking west for the 9th EDBF European Club Crew Championships – or to be more exact - a bit northwest of Kiev. With a change in their proposed venue from the aging but adequately-appointed water sport center in Kiev to a newly-built yacht harbor in a modern development near the banks of the Dnieper, the site is reminiscent of the location of this year’s ECCC in Budapest.
Proposed regatta course on an arm of the Dnieper.
The site visit commission, composed of Bridget Walter, chair of ComSpec; Alan van Cauubergh, EDBF chair; and myself just returned from Kiev recently. While we were skeptical about the change of venue at first, a visit to the site on a sunny day changed our minds.
The UDBF proposed a change to the original venue for a number of reasons. First, they feared that the regatta course on the sport island would not be available anymore. Secondly, even if they could guarantee that the site could continue to be used, they feared that construction on the site might lead to a similar situation as that encountered in St. Petersburg, with heavy equipment posing a safety issue for the paddlers. Finally, the proud Ukranians were eager to show a more progressive side to Kiev and took an example from Hungary by looking at a newly re-developed area along the banks of a river.
While the new location is not at a purpose-built regatta course, there is plenty in its favor: the surroundings are clean and attractive, the waters are deep (3.5 meters at the shallowest), long (1.7km) and wide, the yacht harbor which would serve as the main location for the event is brand-new, the course is sheltered from the wind and the currents of the Dnieper by a long island and there is a brand new golf and conference center with a driving range run by an American pro-golfer overlooking the water. The new location definitely has potential.
While we were there, there were numerous activities taking place in and along the water’s edge. The wide boulevard along the tree-lined upper portion of the waterway was playing host to a display of antique and new fire-fighting equipment while the water served as the battle ground for a water fight between two fire-fighting boats displaying their equipment. Further up the course, we saw the cheerful white sails of the youth sailing school boats and a number of larger sailing and motorized vessels kept to one side of the channel away from the dragon boat races while on their way to the Dnieper. The area also serves as home base for the Kiev Dragon Boat Club.
It seems this part of Kiev has attracted many prosperous young couples and families with its new apartments and variety of specialty restaurants ranging from Japanese to TexMex and from Chinese to traditional Ukrainian. As the sun came out, the boulevard and terraces filled up with people out for a leisurely Saturday afternoon, enjoying an ice cream or a cool glass of wine and a meal. The time to associate Ukraine with communist-era decay is over. The proposed regatta location would have been right at home in any reasonably prosperous city in Europe.
Kiev at night.
Ukraine also has the potential to attract some of our members who haven’t been able to attend EDBF events due to visa restrictions or financial problems. It is easier for some of the former Soviet-block countries to travel to Ukraine than to Western Europe because of its visa policies. The UDBF has also secured permission for a limited number of teams to camp on the island which shelters the race location from the Dnieper, providing a lower-cost option for Ukraine’s poorer neighbors like Belarus and Moldova.
The site visit commission has asked Oleksandr Bakanychev, president of the Ukraine DBF, to address a number of concerns by the time the AGA rolls around in November. Main concerns still arising are the budget, signed commitments from sponsors and necessary permits, cost & availability of technical equipment, language assistance, a team to deal with registrations and a better range of hotels. We were also concerned that the event we visited was very small and did not demonstrate the full organizational capability of the Ukrainian hosts. Therefore, we have required that the UDBF hold a larger-scale event including international teams next summer (and urge EDBF members to attend to see Kiev for themselves). The commission also made it clear to the aspiring hosts that if we find that the preparations for the championship are not progressing satisfactorily, the EDBF reserves the right to revoke the championship and hold it at a reserve location. Nonetheless, we are largely satisfied by the location and the UDBF’s commitment to the championship, and recommend that the AGA confirm the championship award to Ukraine.
For photos & videos of the site, check this Webshots link. You can also find six short video impressions of various areas of the proposed regatta location at YouTube by searching for “EDBF site visit: Kiev….” You can also view the location on Google Maps.
Behind the lens
19 October 2009 -
Women´s team at 2009 GB Nationals
EDBF AGA and Council Meeting
5 October 2009 - The EDBF Annual General Assembly and Council meeting will be held on 14 November in Amsterdam. If you are the EDBF representative for your country and have not yet received your invitation, please contact me immediately and I will send you an invitation and agenda. My apologies for any inconvenience, but it seems that many of your e-mail servers’ spam filters have blocked the EDBF invitation.
I hope to see you in Amsterdam in November.
Kim Beckwith, EDBF Secretary General
After Prague ...
9 September 2009 - These are the statistics after the 2009 World Championships:
24 Countries and Territories from 5 Continents took part but a further 6 Teams did not make it due to a lack of finance in the present world situation. Despite this nearly 3000 participants in 134 Crews made the journey to Prague.
Over 600 Junior Competitors (Under 18) took part, as well as nearly 500 athletes over 50 years of age and 650 over 40 years old. There were 1150 Premier paddlers. Of the total number of participants in all Divisions, nearly 900 were female.
China won the Nations Cup as the best Premier Division Team overall, and also the Women's Premier Title. Canada won the Senior A Title and Singapore the Junior Division. Competing for the first time in a World Champs were athletes from India and Iran.
At the IDBF Congress on 29 August 09, 32 Members were represented. Hong Kong were awarded the right to host the 2012 Club Crew World Championships and Iran the 2013 World Championships in Tehran. USA will host the 2011 World Champs in Tampa Bay and Macau the 2010 Club Crew Worlds.
Madam Xiao Min, China, (Vice President, Chinese NOC) was elected as the IDBF President, the first Woman to hold that office. Mason Hung (Hong Kong), Bob Morro (Usa), Claudio Schermi (Italy) and Ahmad Doniamali (Iran) were elected as the IDBF Vice Presidents'.
Full results for the 2009 World Championships available here.