Dragon Boat racing is the oldest continuously raced sport in the world beginning on China’s Mi-lo River around 400 B.C. Today, with well over a million teams competing worldwide, it is the second most popular sport on the planet. Poised in a 1400 pound canoe with a carved dragon head at the bow, twenty men paddle at the incredible rate of 90 strokes per minute — synchronized to the relentless beat of our drummer at the bow.

And one of the world’s elite teams represents Philadelphia. Training on the Schuylkill River five days a week from April through September, the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Team has become a world powerhouse, earning the right to represent the United States in the last three biannual world championships. The 1995 team won the silver medal in the 1000-meter final in Yue yang, China. Four years ago, at the 1997 World Championships in Hong Kong, the team captured the gold medal in the most prestigious race of all: the 500-meter Grand Final. We represented the USA in the 1999 Worlds in Nottingham, England as well.

The Philadelphia Mens team is actually a local amateur team — that performs year after year at a world class level. We are all working professionals here in the Delaware Valley, representing a variety of occupations. The average age on the team is 36, proving that maturity, experience and hard training can prevail in a sport where intensity, focus, and the tight synchronization of 20 paddles will win races.