This Saturday, August 23rd, 20 teams will be competing at the fourth annual Dragon Boat Festival at English Park. Throughout the day, 3 teams of 20 paddlers will be racing each other in dragon boats on the Ohio River every 15 minutes.
Owensboro Events Director Tim Ross says, “With over 400 people competing, the racing should be really exciting!” That’s exactly why large crowds gather each year to watch the races. The competition gets to be pretty intense as the boaters paddle furiously side-by–side-by-side from a starting buoy to the finish buoy. A drummer sits in the front of the boat to give the paddlers a beat to follow and another person steers from the rear of the boat. From there, it comes down to pure power and synchronization.
Many businesses and organizations enter as a team; some come for fun, some train to win.
Ross says there are plenty of activities to keep people busy in between races as well. On shore, there will be activities for kids, cultural entertainment, and food vendors.
Races begin at 9:00am and will run through the morning with the Championship Rounds scheduled to start by 12:45pm. The awards ceremony will take place by 2:00pm.
[tw-divider]UPDATE: 2014 Winners Announced[/tw-divider]
Grand Champion – REO Speed Dragons
2nd Place – Owensboro Regional Recovery
3rd Place – WKU Confucius Institute
Competitive Division Champion – Insured to Win (Kentucky Farm Bureau)
Recreational Division Champion – Owensboro Regional Recovery
Women’s Division Champion – Blazing Paddles
