Registration is now underway for the 2009 Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival. We will once again host 190 teams over two days at Mooney’s Bay Park in the heart of Ottawa.

The 2009 team registration begins on November 1, 2008. The registration fees are:

Early bird rate: $1,200 +GST (first 75 teams to register AND pay in full by January 31, 2009) Regular rate: $1,300 +GST (after the early bird spots have been filled and/or after January 31, 2009)

Register early to ensure you get the Team Area site you want during festival weekend. This is the area where all 190 teams are allocated a 12x20 space to set-up a tent, etc. These sites may only be selected once a team has PAID IN FULL, based on availability.

Exciting announcements for 2009!

Prize money will be awarded to the top three teams as follows:

1st place = $5,000

2nd place = $3,000

3rd place = $2,000

EXTRA RACE ADDED TO SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE – Teams advancing to Sunday will compete in a total of three races - one 500m and two 200m races (overall winners will be determined based on a combined total of their Sunday 500m race and their best 200m race).

We are very pleased to offer Online Team Registration, Online Waivers and Online Payment. Entry fee includes 2 team practices and all equipment is supplied.

Team Organizers/Captains may register their team and make the payment online. If you would like to make a payment using some other method, use the “Pay Offline” option at the end of the registration process and forward payment to the Festival Office at:

Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival
34-407 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y7

Once the payment has been authorized, organizers can add team members to their roster at any time. Team members can then sign their waivers individually online.

A team is not registered with the festival until registration is paid in full. The Executive Committee reserves the right to accept or reject late entries, at its discretion.

Registration is currently limited to 190 teams. We do maintain a waiting list in the event a team should withdraw from the festival. Registration closes - whatever may be the date - as soon as 190 teams have registered.

We are pleased to announce affiliations with the following associations:

Step 1: Filling the Boat
Filling a boat requires 20 people to paddle, someone to steer (very important), someone to drum or ‘call’ and a few people to act as spares. Mixed teams require that a minimum of eight (8) paddlers of either gender must be paddling on the boat during the race. This does not include the drummer or the steersperson.

A paddler on a Mixed team may also paddle for a Women’s team and a paddler from a Women’s team may also paddle for a Mixed team.

A steersperson may steer for more than one team, however if there is a scheduling conflict, it is the team’s responsibility to provide an alternate steersperson or risk the chance of not racing.

Step 2: Defining Roles
Every dragon boat team that registers with the festival has three roles to fill - we recommend assigning these roles to different individuals to help in the success of your team. These people will be designated on your roster.

These roles are suggestions only and you may develop a process that works better for you. If you come up with new ideas, please feel free to share them with us.

Step 3: Team Roster and Waivers
All team organizers/captains must fill out the online roster in the Team Administration area. You may enter the team admin area at any time and add members to your team. Once a team member’s name and email have been entered they will receive an individual email generated by the system asking them to register to your team. It is at this time that they will have the opportunity to sign their waiver online. If a team member does not have an email address they must submit a manual waiver to the festival office, either through their team captain/organizer or directly to the office. PLEASE NOTE: An email address may only be used for one person; the email address automatically becomes the username for that individual therefore only one person may use that particular address. Manual waivers can be downloaded here.

All rosters must be complete by the designated deadline (see Rules & Regulations). All waivers must be signed by the designated deadline. Team members who have not signed their waivers may not participate in practices and will not be allowed to participate in racing. All team members who have signed a waiver will receive a wristband to wear over the weekend. Anyone without a wristband will not be allowed in a boat. Wristbands will be distributed to Team Captains at the Team Captain’s Meeting the Friday night before the festival weekend.

If you are really having trouble forming a team please contact the Festival Office, and someone will be happy to speak with you and offer suggestions.

Step 4: Practicing
Once your team is registered you will need to practice and learn how to operate a dragon boat. For safety reasons, we do not let teams participate in the event unless they have practiced first.

Your team entry fee includes two practice times. Practices are not organized through the Festival Office and are generally held in June. Once your team is registered in the festival, your captain will receive instructions on how to book the practices with the "Dragons in Training" group at the Rideau Canoe Club. Check back again soon for the Dragons in Training 2009 FAQ page.

If you have registered your team and have not received instructions - or for any team related questions - please email team@dragonboat.net.

Step 5: Participating on Race Weekend

Team Captain’s Manual
A Team Captain’s Manual will be posted on the website and a copy will be distributed to Team Captains at the annual Festival Launch in May.

Please refer to our dragon boat glossary for a list of commonly used terms in the sport of dragon boating.

Team Captain’s Meeting
Team Captains and Steerspeople MUST meet with the Race Officials on the Friday before the event at 6:30pm to review the rules and regulations, pick up any last minute information, and team identification wristbands.

Race Schedule
The Saturday morning race schedule will be available online approximately a week before the event.

Team Calendar of Events/Important Dates
A complete listing of important dates/events and race weekend details can be found here.

Race Weekend
The Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival is a two-day event with races on Saturday and Sunday. Your team entry fee entitles you two races on Saturday, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and you may advance to the finals on Sunday depending on your qualifying time. Your best time from your two races on Saturday is used to determine whether you advance to the Sunday races. The top 75 mixed teams and top 24 women’s teams from Saturday will advance to Sunday. Depending on the make-up of your team, you may qualify to participate in a Challenge Cup. If you do qualify under a particular Challenge Cup category, that race will count as one of your two Saturday races. Refer to the Challenge Cups section below for a full listing of competitions. For those who don't qualify for one of these Cups, you will still get to race twice on Saturday.

Map and Directions

Click here for map

For this sport, each team races in a dragon boat that is supplied by the Festival. During practice sessions, the dragon boats are not dressed up; however, on race day, the beautiful, colourful heads and tails will be attached.
Each paddler must wear a personal flotation device (PFD), which is also supplied by the Festival along with the paddles. Individuals will be allowed to use their own paddles, but the paddles must conform to approved specifications. These specifications can be found in the Team Captain’s Manual which will be distributed prior to the Festival.

The Festival Office staff will attempt to place any paddlers who are without a team by referring them to teams in need. Please contact us by E-mail with the following information:

You can also join our Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6462708946

All teams entering the festival can seek corporate sponsorship to cover team costs. Corporate sponsor's name and logos may be displayed on all team clothing and team tents. Please contact the festival office for ideas regarding team sponsorship and how to recognize potential sponsors.

Challenge Cup races are designed to increase competition among teams from local industry or community groups. If you choose to enter a Challenge Cup you will be grouped with similar teams for the first race of the weekend. If there are more than 8 teams in a Challenge Cup your afternoon race will serve as the Challenge Cup Final. Entering a Challenge Cup does not increase the number of times a team will race.

For the purpose of Challenge Cups please indicate the Challenge Cup your team would like to enter. Challenge Cup Teams must have a minimum of 9 people racing from the designated cup category. For example, if you are entering the High Tech Challenge your team must have a minimum of 9* paddlers who are employed with the High Tech organization the team represents or work in the High Tech industry.

The Challenge Cups listed below are existing Challenge Races. A Challenge Cup race will only run if there are three (3) or more teams for that particular category. If you are unsure about which category you qualify for please contact the Festival Office or email team@dragonboat.net.

* Some cups require that the entire crew meet the criteria. These cups are marked with an asterisk.

Breast Cancer Survivors* – teams whose members are breast cancer survivors.

Building & Development - teams representing companies whose major business involves construction, project development, engineering consultants, building materials, etc.

Competitive – teams who consider themselves competitive and/or engage in 10 or more practices throughout the year.

Education – teams whose members attend or work for educational institutions, administration, or associated parent advisory associations.

Embassies & Foreign Missions – teams whose members work for embassies or foreign missions, or immigrant services or associated community associations.

Financial Services - teams representing companies or institutions providing financial services (Banks, Trust Companies, Investment, Insurance, Mortgage Brokers, etc.)

Girls n' Women and Sport* – Recreational women’s teams only.

Government – teams whose members work for federal, provincial or municipal governments.

High Tech - teams representing companies whose major business is the production of computer software and hardware, system interfaces, etc.

Health Care & Ambulance Services – teams whose members work for hospitals, medical clinics, ambulance services, or medical or dental offices.

Hospitality & Tourism - teams representing companies whose major business is providing hospitality or tourism services, accommodation or meals.

Legal - teams representing companies whose employees include lawyers, para-legals, etc.

Media - teams representing companies whose major business is television, radio or print (i.e. newspapers, magazines) production.

Police & Fire Fighters – teams whose members work for police forces, services or associations, or fire fighters, services or associations.

Professional Services - teams representing companies or businesses providing services in accounting, law, or associations.

40 and Over* – teams made up of men and/or women who are all over the age of 40

PLEASE NOTE: A team may only select ONE challenge cup category.