About Us

City Dragons was formed in 2003 with only 20 members.  By 2007 the club has more than quadrupled in size & won the Australian Dragon Boat Federation's Premier Opens 500m title in 2006 & finished 2nd in the Premier Opens 200m Final! Our Womens crew has made the major final in both the 500m and 200m in consecutive years 2006 & 2007.  The club has successfully competed in China winning Gold & Bronze medals at various Dragon Boat events throughout China.  The club is specifically put together for the purpose of dragon boat competition, however the club also offers a diverse range of sporting, cultural & social activities, such as fundraising, land training, Dragon Dance & corporate crew training. City Dragons has a long association with the Chinese Dragon Boat Association and regularly takes teams to tour China and compete at international events.

Our Mission

City Dragons is a dragon boat team that thrives on the pursuit of excellence, achieved through tenacity, passion, camaraderie and spirit.

Our Values

Respect, Fun, Friendship, Commitment, Teamwork

Our Goal

To continue growth and development of our club and most importantly individuals within the organization.

Dragon boats, a brief history

The legend concerns the poignant saga of a famous Chinese patriot poet named Qu Yuan a.k.a. Ch'u Yuen. It is said that he lived in the pre-imperial Warring States period (475-221 BC). During this time the area today known as central China was divided into seven main states or kingdoms battling among themselves for supremacy with unprecedented heights of military intrigue. This was at the conclusion of the Zhou (Chou) Dynasty period, which is regarded as China's classical age during which Kongzi (Confucius) lived. Also, the author Sunzi (Sun Tzu) is said to have written his famous classic on military strategy The Art of War during this era. Qu Yuan is popularly regarded as a minister in one of the Warring State governments, the southern state of Chu (present day Hunan and Hubei provinces), a champion of political loyalty and integrity, and eager to maintain the Chu state's autonomy and hegenomy. The Chu king, however, fell under the influence of other corrupt, jealous ministers who slandered Qu Yuan as 'a sting in flesh'. So the fooled king banished QU, his most loyal counselor. In Qu's exile, so goes the legend, he supposedly produced some of the greatest early poetry in Chinese literature expressing his fervent love for his state and his deepest concern for its future. The collection of odes are known as the Chuci or "Songs of the South (Chu)". His most well known verses are the rhapsodic Li Sao or "Lament" and the fantastic Tien Wen or "Heavenly Questions". In the year 278 B.C., upon learning of the upcoming devastation of his state from invasion by a neighbouring Warring State (Qin in particular), Qu is said to have waded into the Miluo river in today's Hunan Province holding a great rock in order to commit ritual suicide as a form of protest against the corruption of the era. The Qin or Chin kingdom eventually conquered all of the other states and unified them into the first Chinese empire. The word China derives from Chin. The common people, upon learning of his suicide, rushed out on the water in their fishing boats to the middle of the river and tried desperatedly to save Qu Yuan. They beat drums and splashed the water with their paddles in order to keep the fish and evil spirits from his body. Later on, they scattered rice into the water to prevent him from suffering hunger. Another belief is that the people scattered rice to feed the fish, in order to prevent the fishes from devouring the poet's body. However, late one night, the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared before his friends and told them that the rice meant for him was being intercepted by a huge river dragon. He asked his friends to wrap their rice into three-cornered silk packages to ward off the dragon. This has been a traditional food ever since known as zongzi or sticky rice wrapped in leaves, although they are wrapped in leaves instead of silk. In commemoration of Qu Yuan it is said, people hold dragon boat races annually on the day of his death. Today, dragon boat festivals continue to be celebrated around the world with dragon boat racing, although such events are still culturally associated with the traditional Chinese Tuen Ng festival in Hong Kong (Cantonese Chinese dialect) or Duan Wu festival in south central mainland China (Mandarin Chinese dialect).