The Edmonton Dragon Boat Racing Club is a newly formed non-profit sports and athletic club. The EDBRC is also the home of the champion "River Rats" paddling teams. As the sport of dragon boating grows exponentially in Canada, the EDBRC plans to address the need for leadership in the Edmonton area.

What We Sound Like 

hear our adopted haka: The background haka sound of this page should play shortly.  Use "Refresh" or "Reload" button to play the haka again.

Our Team Paddling Technique 

is an emulation of the World Championship False Creek paddling technique, developed in Vancouver by Vincent Lo. We are cultivating a core coaching staff to instruct this powerful stroke technique.

Our Summer Plan for 20001

is to coach and lead three teams to enter the race festivals in Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Kelowna.  With funding, we will also race in San Francisco in October. We will also assist about 15 novice Edmonton teams in basic technique and race strategy.

The EDBRC will also provide volunteer services to the EDBFA (see below) as steersmen, coaches, and race logisticians.

Our 3-year Objective

is to competitively race in the prestigious Vancouver World Cup festival next June, and then  San Francisco, Toronto and Hong Kong over the next three years... providing we get the appropriate sponsorship.

Our Ongoing Mission

is to promote and foster the non-profit development of the dragon boating sport in Alberta, both as a serious athletic venture, and as a fun recreational and social sport.

We plan to build a core base of several dozen strong dragon boat paddlers who will enter three or four major race festivals each summer. These paddlers will race under the name: EDBRC  "River Rats". Our all-female team will race under the name: EDBRC "Muskrats".

Our Place in the Edmonton Community

The River Rats are out to make dragon boating a sport for everyone! We will assist other Edmonton area teams by offering free coaching, steering, clinics, and technique drills as an unpaid service for any groups who want to get started into the sport. 

The club employs positive public relations, education, applied programs in beginner training, intermediate/advanced paddling training,  steering, drumming, fitness, and confidence building.

We also plan on throwing really awesome parties throughout the year

Our Partner: the EDBFA

The EDBRC partners with another non-profit group: The Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival Association. The EDBFA is dedicated to hosting and organizing the annual August Dragon Boat Races here in Edmonton.

In exchange for the use of the EDBFA dragon boats, the River Rats provide coaching, steering, and logistical manpower to the Festival.

Our Members

Our club represents the whole spectrum of humanity! The one common bond we all have is an outgoing spirit, but outside of that, we come from all walks of life. As of this writing, the EDBRC has a membership base of approximately 30 core paddlers, and a secondary base of another 30 new paddlers. Membership is expected to reach 200 for 2001, and 300 for 2002.

Our Executive

The EDBRC River Rats Club is run by several volunteers, elected to their positions by the membership. 

Click for more info about our executive members

Annual Club Dues

are $30 CDN, which includes your entry fee into the co-ed divisions of the Edmonton Race Festival, and all practices (four times per week), plus any informal steering and coaching clinics you attend.

Team Uniforms by Elite and MEC

are $35, and are supplied by Mountain Equipment Coop. 

Entry Fees  

for Calgary and Kelowna are an additional $30 per person.

Club Transportation  

for Kelowna: we are chartering a Red Arrow bus from Edmonton to Kelowna, leaving early morning on Friday Sep 15, returning on Sunday night Sep 17th.  The bus fare + hotel fee should be approximately $150 CDN.

How to Contact Us 

1) Phone:  427-6515 (ask for Dennis)

2) General email inquiries go to: edmdragonboat@hotmail.com

3) Webmaster: Paul the Web Rat

4) To reach a specific executive member, please visit our Executive page on this site.