Why We're Different

In 1983 representatives of the Hong Kong Tourist Association visited Philadelphia’s famed Boat House Row to gift a dragonboat and paddles to a group of Philly rowers in the hope that they would jump-start the sport in the United States. That thrown-together team became the first Team USA and won a Silver medal that summer in Hong Kong harbor. That team continues to this day as the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association (PDBA). Some of the original athletes from the 1980s including our Coach Bob McNamara are still competing at a world-championship level to this day.

One of our local news stations did a great job of capturing the moment and watching the video is a lot more fun than reading about it so here ya go.

The Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association (PDBA) was founded in 1983 and was the first dragonboat racing team in the United States. Our Head Coach Bob McNamara and several more of those first-adopter American dragonboat racers are still going strong on our team today. The goal of the PDBA is to prepare our athletes for World Championship races, compete in a lot of local and regional races along the way, and to help the sport of dragonboat racing to grow and thrive in the United States. Our membership includes three International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) Hall of Famers and the President of the United States Dragon Boat Federation.

We hold high performance practices 5 days a week in the mornings from April through September. Since the inception of international dragon boat races in 1995 we have never failed to qualify for and then medal in international competitions all over Asia, North America, Europe and Australia. Our big event in 2026 will be the IDBF Club Crew World Championships, which will be held in late summer in Taiwan.

Depending on the nature of the race the PDBA enters boats in Women’s, Mixed and Open (Mens) rosters. When a regatta is large enough to be broken down by age we currently race in the age divisions over 40, but we plan to recruit and train heavily this year to replenish the under-forty aged part of the team that we ourselves dominated from the 90s into the early 20-teens.

Despite our vast experience, the leadership of IDBF Hall of Fame Coach Robert McNamara, frequent practices, an OC-1 fleet for individual training, and individual racing fees being covered by the team, our annual dues are unusually low. That’s possible because we also host the largest and best run single-day dragonboat race in the country, the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta. Proceeds benefit US Military veterans, the Premier (under 40) paddlers of Team USA, and our own upkeep and logistics. PDBA members volunteer to staff that event.

Our boats seat a mix of strong amateur athletes of many ages, both men and women. Our homes are decorated with World Championship medals. Our lives are enriched by decades-long friendships. Our memories are filled with racing adventures from all over the world. Our quiet moments are brightened by the pride of being part of the first group of Americans to adopt an ancient Chinese sport in 1983, bond as a team, and then share what we love and help grow across the United States in all the years since.

Welcome to Philadelphia.

Our Story

When you come to a PDBA practice you’ll be sitting alongside Premier and Senior division world champions of the last thirty years. Our vibe and team culture is built on the friendships we've built, the experience we've gained, and the obstacles we've overcome starting decades ago when no one in this country had ever even heard of dragonboat racing. From the beginning our goals have been to help this unfamiliar sport grow in the USA while training our athletes to be selected for our USDBF Club Crew team and IDBF Team USA rosters for competitions all over the world.

About the PDBA

How it All began

From 1983 to 2001 the PDBA was a Premier Open team. Back then we had only enough athletes to fill one boat and there were only a handful of teams in the entire United States. In 2001 the IDBF World Championship was held in Philadelphia and the sport began to grow in popularity. In 2002 women began to join the team and the “Philadelphia Men’s Dragonboat Team” became the “Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association”.