Club History

Established 2005

In 2005, the Board of Carolinas Asian-American Chamber of Commerce (CAACC) approved to form the Charlotte Dragon Boat Association (CDBA) as a dedicated resource to promote, plan, organize, and sponsor Dragon Boat racing events and to raise awareness and enrich and celebrate the diversity of our multi-culture community.

The Association president and treasurer were appointed by the CAACC Board. Future Association elections are to be recommended by the president upon approval by the CAACC Board.

A Chinese tradition from 2,300 ago, dragon boat racing is a fast-growing flat water sport. The CAACC modeled the Charlotte Dragon Boat Festival after similar events in a number of cities in North America. It is truly a community-based recreational/competitive and an environmentally friendly event that promotes team-building, wellness and cultural awareness.

A pilot trial was organized in 2006. With the support of the Crossroads Learning Organization, the event was formally launched in 2007. In each of the last three years, this cross-cultural event has attracted over 1,000 crew and well over 7,000 visitors

Levine Children's Hospital was our charity partner in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, we helped organized two new Charlotte cancer survivor teams and celebrated their participation with a special race against a BCS crew from Charleston, SC

Partnering with the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation, we intend to grow this into a signature, participatory event for all citizens in the Charlotte region.