The 2012 Dragon Boats Races

September 8, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

Through corporate sponsorships of teams at various levels, the biennial Dragon Boat Races are a major source of operating income for Catholic Charities.  The event is free for spectators and is a fun-filled day for thousands of people who enjoy the day-long races and entertainment.  Catholic Charities is Maryland’s leading provider of human services. Catholic Charities serves people of all faiths – 160,000 people and 350,000 meals to hungry Baltimoreans every year.

The teams

Businesses and organizations sponsor teams that practice for 8 weeks at Lighthouse Point in Canton for the day-long series of races at the Inner Harbor on September 8, 2012.

2012 Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors: Constellation energy and Harkins Builders

Gold Sponsors: Allegis, Bank of America, Brown Advisory, Hamel Builders, KPMG, M&T Bank, Sun Trust, Wells Fargo, Whiting Turner

The paddlers

It takes 20 paddlers, plus a drummer who sits at the head facing the paddlers to keep the pace, and a steerer who stands at the tail and uses a long oar to keep the boat on course. Eight members of the team must be women. Teams are allowed three alternates.

The Races offer a unique opportunity for adult athletes to train and compete to represent their organizations in a festival atmosphere with thousands of fans.  This is an excellent opportunity to for businesses to develop teamwork and camaraderie.

The boats

Catholic Charities owns eight authentic Dragon Boats.  The boats are 41-feet long, 45 inches wide, and weigh 550 pounds, plus the weight of the 22 people in the boat.  The hulls are made of fiberglass and the interior components are solid mahogany.

The races

The races have become extremely competitive. The qualifying races (time trials) begin at beginning at8:00 a.m.Throughout the day, over 35 races will be run, starting every 8-10 minutes. Teams load into the boats near theScienceCenterand paddle across the harbor to the starting point at the WorldTradeCenter. The race course ends near theMarylandScienceCenterand is 440 meters long or about a quarter of a mile. It usually takes over 84 strokes per minute and under two minutes to win.

>Watch the highlights of the 2010 Dragon Boat Races on YouTube.