The benefits of Dragon Boating can be divided into three main categories, fitness, team building and psychological health benefits. Although these are separate they all intertwine to make the activity of Dragon Boating a valuable and exciting experience.
Fitness
- Dragon boating is a sport that increases fitness. It’s a physically demanding activity that combines upper body and trunk exercises with the aesthetic of movement in a traditional boat.
- People of all fitness levels can participate. The longer you do it, the fitter you will become.
- It’s a whole body workout. Your legs are the anchor, while the muscles in your arms, shoulders and back drag the paddle through the water.
- Great for strengthening your abs and core.
- Cardiovascular fitness: your endurance and stamina will quickly build with continued training.
- It will increase your strength, endurance and coordination.
Team building
- Dragon boat teams provide an opportunity for a diverse range of people to get to know each other through an accessible and spirited team oriented activity. Dragon boat racing is unique in its ability to bridge communication gaps by building strong, supportive relationships.
- Racing enhances work dynamics, increases paddler motivation, improves communication, boosts self-confidence, and breaks down barriers among team members.
- Every paddler has a unique job, encouraging leadership in each person, as well as working together to achieve goals through individual roles. It is fun and promotes an active and healthy lifestyle. Teamwork is essential, because it is all about being in sync; this is a lot more important than strength.
- The sport fosters team spirit and cooperation among its members, which are transferable skills. Corporations find that the experiences of dealing with the fast pace and challenges of adapting to external environments help build on-job skills of friendship, personal accountability and achievement.
- Dragon boating is the ultimate team sport. It’s not about any one individual; it’s about how the whole team works together. A perfectly synchronized team will almost always beat a stronger, but less coordinated team.
Psychological health benefits
- It provides members with a relaxed atmosphere
- It encourages mental and physical health through a commitment to each other
- The physical experience of being in the dragon boat is an excellent catalyst for clear, creative thinking and innovation, which adds to productivity outside of sport
- A reduction in stress levels;
- Improved self-esteem;
- Increased energy;
- Improved mood and body image;
- Greater confidence
- Individual feeling of accomplishment, along with the pride of being part of a team.
- Over the past 15 years Dragon Boat Racing has become extremely popular among Breast Cancer survivors. The repetitive and intense upper body workout has proven physical benefits. Paddling together with a team of survivors bestows the full range of psychological benefits and has been shown to be an invaluable part of the recovery process.