San Francisco Dragon Boat Championships return first time since pandemic to celebrate its 25th anniversary

(SAN FRANCISCO) After the cancellation for two years due to the COVID pandemic starting in 2020, the annual San Francisco Dragon Boat Championships were back this year to be held on September 24 and 25 at the Lake Merced in San Francisco.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the San Francisco Dragon Boat Championships to promote the dragon boat tradition in the San Francisco Bay Area. The participants in the Championships were more excited to have double celebrations of the competitions this year.

"We have over 40 teams racing, and we are partnering with our long-time Premier Sponsor, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office San Francisco, as both organizations celebrate 25 years!" said Linda Cheu, Festival Director of the California Dragon Boat Association.

The San Francisco Dragon Boat Championships is hosted by the California Dragon Boat Association in around September each year.

Over 40 teams competed in this year's race, which is one of the oldest and largest dragon boat races in the United States. The race was held at Lake Merced, where the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department recently built a new dock for users at the lake. “It’s just so thrilling to see the whole community coming back together to watch dragon boats race on the water at Lake Merced,” exclaimed Hans Wu, Race Director.

As before for many years, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office was one of the largest sponsors for the dragon boat festival. A booth was set up at Lake Merced during the festival to provide the latest information about Hong Kong.

Members of over 40 teams competed for two championships. San Francisco Dragon Warriors, a team that was founded in 2000 with over 100 members, was the winner of the Competitive and Recreational Team Championship. Abraham Lincoln High School Dragon Boat of San Francisco, a team that also won the Club Crew World Championship Races in Hungary in 2018, was the winner of the High School Youth Dragon Team Championship.

The next race, California Dragon Boat Association College Cup, will be held on November 12 at Lake Merced. Dragon boat teams from UC Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Davis, and others will participate in the upcoming competition in November this year.