Who are the Windy City Dragons?

We are a competitive co-ed team comprised of students, young professionals, tradesmen and active moms competing in regional and international regattas. In 2010 and 2011, our team won gold medals in several regattas regionally and won the title of the U.S. Club Crew National Dragon Boat Racing Champions. See results of our races at our website www.windycitydragons.com.

We are the only Chicago dragon boat team that has ever won the U.S. National Dragon Boat Championship title and to earn the berth right to compete in the World Dragon Boat Championships held in Hong Kong 2012.

We're looking to recruit several people into our dragon boat club to compete in our 1st Inaugural Chicago International Dragon Boat Festival held on July 28th, 2012 at Lake Arlington - Arlington Heights, IL.

What is Dragon Boating?

A dragon boat is a long and narrow canoe that seats 20 paddlers in 10 rows, with a drummer at the front, and a steersperson that navigates the boat at the rear. It is also decorated with a dragon head at the front and a dragon tail at the back of the boat. In a competition, dragon boaters typically paddle in sync along a 250m or 500m race course toward the finish line. Modern forms of dragon boat racing originated from Hong Kong in 1976, but its historical roots can be traced back to over 2000 years ago in China. It is known as the world’s oldest team sport.

Here are some highlights from our 2011 dragon boat racing season:

• June 2011 - Capital Lakes Dragon Fest - Madison, WI - Gold Medalists
• August 2011 - International Dragon Boat Federation World Championship – Tampa, FL TEAM USA wins Nations Cup and 9 members of the Windy City Dragons brings gold, silver and bronze in 200m, 500m, 1000m and 2000m distance races.
• August 2011- Windy City Dragons defends the U.S. National Dragon Boat Champion title for the second year in a row.

September 11th, 2011- A day to remember on the 10th year anniversary of 9/11 for the Windy City Dragons as we fought our way to the finish line in the GWN Dragon Boat Challenge in Toronto, Canada representing Chicago and the only team from the USA. We were in great spirits winning 3rd place Bronze medalists overall in the Final A Division.  

http://www.mkphotographics.com/videocontent/DragonBoat1-360.mp4

• October 2011 – Orlando, FL International Dragon Boat Championship – Gold Medalists

Check out this video on YouTube as the Windy City Dragons storms through the finals in Toronto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITgrgyW1N0c&feature=youtube_gdata_player 

PINK-TOBER 2011 – Breast Cancer Awareness Month   

One of the most active groups in Dragon Boating is Breast Cancer Survivors. In 1995, Dr. Don McKenzie, a sports medicine physician conducted a research at University of British Columbia, where he examined the benefits of upper body exercise for patients who undergo breast cancer treatment. Dragon boating was proven to have many benefits:  its strenuous, repetitive upper body focus, opportunity to work in teams, and comprehensive training.  The International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission officially formed in 2001 (www.ibcpc.com) now has representative teams in over ten countries from around the globe.

 Windy City Dragons introduces the development of the Windy City PINK Dragons - the first EVER breast cancer survivor dragon boat team in Chicago.  In collaboration with the Susan G. Komen affiliates in Chicago, we joined our efforts into bringing a great team of breast cancer survivors together.

Check out this video on YouTube as the Windy City Dragons is featured on NBC5 Chicago's morning news about the PINK Dragons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vJliYlr1tg&feature=player_embedded

Also, check out some photos from our 2011 season:

http://kayakracer.smugmug.com/Boats/Windy-City-Dragons/17815782_vcSk9V#1361845837_SDhFs2t

Today dragon boating has become an urban phenomenon. With over 100 festivals across the United States, paddlers of all backgrounds are drawn to the sport because it is easy to pick up, easy to enjoy, great fitness, and continue to participate for the healthy lifestyle. 

Dragon Boat Racing currently is the FASTEST GROWING OUTDOOR SPORT IN THE WORLD and we're hoping to expand this sport in the City of Chicago.