The Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival (TIDBRF), is an annual
dragon boat race and cultural event, first held in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada in 1989. It developed from the
Toronto Chinese Business Association held in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. An associated festival highlights Asian and other culture in Toronto.
Venue
Races were originally held at the
Ontario Place West Channel
The Ontario Place West Channel, also known as the Toronto Western Beaches Watercourse is a "flat water" training and competition centre for rowing, paddling, and List of water sports, water sports located on the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto ...
at
Ontario Place
Ontario Place is an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toronto. ...
, and since 2007 races have taken place in the Main Channel at Centre Island, one of the
Toronto Islands
The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...
. The Main Channel race course is long and six lanes wide.
Format and Rules
Races occur over two days. Once separated into Community and Corporate categories, races were combined into the following categories for the 18th (2006) festival:
* Premier Mixed (at least 8 women)
* Premier Women (all women)
* Junior Mixed (at least 8 girls)
In addition to divisional finals seeded by aggregate time from two heats, there are also industry finals for teams representing groups in certain categories. In 2006, these were:
* Community groups
* Non-profit groups and charities
* Universities
* Other education groups
* Hospitals
* Industries
* Breast cancer survivors
* Technology & Communications companies
* Pharmaceutical companies
References
* Toronto Star GTA Section June 25. 2005 B3
External links
Official WebsiteToronto Chinese Business Association- principal organizer
Dragon Boat CanadaDragon Boat Net - The Paddlers SiteDragon Boat World Magazine - The World's Leading Dragon Boat Magazine
{{Canoeing and kayaking
Dragon boat racing
Water sports in Canada
Festivals in Toronto
Toronto Islands
Boat festivals