IDBF Club Crew World Championships Update

Over a hundred teams have registered to compete in the upcoming IDBF Club Crew World Championships, taking place in Toronto from August 10-13.

More than 2,000 athletes are confirmed for the championship races. Together with community, diversity and breast cancer survivor races, the numbers of athletes and supporters will exceed 3,000. Many of the world’s best dragon boat crews are coming, including teams from Canada, the US, Australia, China, Jamaica and the Philippines.

European crews participating in the 2006 CCWC are:

Kurfpfalz Dragons (Team Baden Wurttemberg), Germany. Premier Open, Premier Mixed
Elb Meadow Masters, Germany. Senior Mixed
Schwerin Uhu´s, Germany. Senior Open, Women, and Mixed
Uckermark Dragon, Germany. Premier Open, Premier Mixed
Three River Serpents, Great Britain. Premier Mixed
Viking Marines, Great Britain. Premier Open
Ballast Nedam Concrete Dragons, Netherlands. Premier Open, Premier Mixed
Shtoorm, Russia. Premier Open, Premier Mixed
Ukranian Dragon Boat Federation, Ukraine. Senior Mixed

A number of other teams, including Czech, Italian and Russian crews, submitted provisional entries for the Championships but recently pulled out due to the challenges of raising funds to travel abroad with large crews.

"We are very pleased overall with the strong response we have had from the international dragon boat community," said Organizing Committee Chair Sharifa Khan. "These numbers put us in a great position to build on the success of past IDBF Championships in places like Berlin and Cape Town. We are now working very hard with our partners, sponsors and volunteers to ensure that Toronto puts on the best ever Club Crew World Championships."

The Championships will be held at the new Western Beaches Watercourse in Toronto. On-site facilities will include an athlete’s village, a variety of food vendors and a beer tent, as well as art exhibits, information booths for local tourism, an official CCWC merchandise booth, and a marketplace featuring products for sale from various sponsors and suppliers (including watersport gear vendors).

The final event schedule and crew list are now available at the CCWC site: www.2006ccwc.com.

From information submitted by Laurie Carmichael and the CCWC site.