We are a top performing dragon boat team whose victories are a result of a unified and cohesive team effort; where the merit in victories are not measured by the number of medals but the growth and impact of the team as a whole.

Our History

The University of California, San Diego Dragon Boat Team was started in 2003 by a group of ambitious students looking to take their passion for the competitive sport they first encountered in high school to the college level. From its humble beginnings, the team has now grown into one of the top collegiate teams in California, competing in San Francisco’s CDBA Collegiate Championship, Tempe’s Arizona Dragon Boat Festival, the Long Beach Spring Race, and the Long Beach Summer Dragon Boat Festival.

The Sport of Dragon Boat

Dragon boat racing is an ancient canoeing sport originating from an annual ethnic ritual over the past two thousand years throughout southern China, that later spread throughout southeastern Asia and recently all over the globe. A dragon boat is essentially a 40 foot canoe that accommodates 20 paddlers (2 per row), a drummer and a steersman. Although competition has taken place for more than two millennia as part of religious ceremonies and folk customs, dragon boat racing has more recently risen as a competitive international sport.

Come check out what UCSD Dragon Boat is all about! Fall recruitment is approaching and we’ve got an eventful two weeks for you to engage in both the sport and the team. Please check our recruitment schedule and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send us a message at ucsddragonboat@gmail.com or through Facebook on the UC San Diego Dragon Boat page.

Stay updated by visiting/following our social mediums:
Facebook: UC San Diego Dragon Boat
Instagram: @ucsddb

2025-2026 I Race Recaps

4/26/26 - 2026 Long Beach Spring Race

Less than a month after racing in Tempe, the team traveled to Long Beach for the final race of the season. After an early start, competition began immediately upon arrival. In the 500m qualifying races, the A boat secured 1st place and advanced to the A Division semifinals, while the B boat placed 3rd and moved into the C Division semifinals.

In the A Division semifinals, the A boat faced strong competition and still managed to advance, outperforming several of the top West Coast teams by more than two seconds. In the C Division semifinals, the B boat competed without a full crew member but continued pushing through adversity to earn 2nd place and advance to the finals. Both boats ultimately reached their respective championship races.
Despite difficult wind and water conditions, the B boat earned 3rd place in the C Division finals. The A Division final was extremely close, with the podium decided by less than a second; the A boat finished 3rd with a time of 2:06.426, just milliseconds behind first place.

Later in the day, conditions worsened significantly for the 200m races, with strong wind and rough water making paddling increasingly difficult across all teams. Several boats lost control during races, but both crews managed to maintain stability thanks to strong steering and communication. In the 200m qualifying rounds, the A boat placed 1st in its heat and advanced to the A Division semifinals, while the B boat placed 4th and moved into the D/E Division semifinals. The A boat ultimately finished 3rd in the A Division semifinals, narrowly missing a finals berth by less than a second. The B boat advanced to the D Division finals and secured another 3rd place finish.

The Long Beach Spring Race marked a strong conclusion to the season. While no boat finished at the top of the podium, both crews consistently competed against some of the strongest programs in the sport and established themselves as the top collegiate team in the field. The event was especially meaningful for many athletes, as the camaraderie, support, and team culture throughout the weekend stood out as one of the highlights of the season.

3/28-29/26 - 2026 Arizona Dragon Boat Festival

The 2026 Arizona Dragon Boat Festival, held in Tempe, Arizona, pushed the team to its limits over a demanding two-day competition in intense desert heat. Facing premier programs from across the nation, the team delivered strong performances and secured victories in multiple divisions.

Dragonboat group photo crouching in front of ocean

In the Collegiate Division, both the A and B boats performed at a high level, with each qualifying for the A Division Final—an achievement not reached in the past decade. The A Boat dominated the field, capturing 1st place by a significant margin and defeating top programs such as UCLA, UCB, and UCI. The B Boat also impressed, placing 3rd in the 250m Knockout races and 2nd in the Guts and Glory Division, outperforming several Arizona-based teams on their home waters. Meanwhile, the A Boat continued to compete against the nation’s fastest crews in the Division A 250m Knockouts and Guts and Glory races, finishing 4th overall in both events.

The Women’s Boat and Open Boat also delivered strong performances against highly competitive fields. The Women’s Boat advanced to the Division A Women’s Final, earning a 5th-place finish overall. The Open Boat narrowly missed qualification for its final, falling short by just 0.14 seconds.

The Arizona Dragon Boat Festival remains a highlight of the season due to its wide range of race categories and consistently high level of competition. It also provides a valuable opportunity to race against national team paddlers, as well as former coaches and mentors. With this experience, the team now turns its focus toward continued training in preparation for the final race of the season in April.

11/9/25 - CDBA College Cup

The 2025 CDBA College Cup race in San Francisco, California was our team's first race back of the season and the first race for all of our new recruits! After joining the team a month ago with no paddling experience at all, the newbies have pushed themselves beyond belief and came away winners.

Our Mixed A Boat did an amazing job in their qualifying and semis heats, taking 1st place with a 4 second lead both times and placing into A Division finals. Our Mixed B Boat struggled a little more and placed 5th out of 6 in qualifiers. After a pep talk from our coaches, they placed 4th in the semis and qualified for B Division finals, a major improvement from previous years!

Likewise, our Women's and Open Boats did incredibly well in semis, placing 1st and 2nd respectively. Both gendered boats have made significant progress since the last College Cup by focusing on technique and timing, which had historically been our biggest weaknesses in the gendered divisions. Women's Boat finished in 3rd, and for the first time since 2016, our Open Boat medaled in finals, also taking 3rd place!

During the Mixed B finals, our B Boat faced off against several other school's A Boats. Despite coming in 5th place, they paddled an incredibly strong piece and demonstrated significant improvements from the start of the day. Our A Boat faced off against UC Irvine, Cal, UCLA, and San Jose State in A Division finals, taking a surprise 3rd place finish less than a second behind the 1st and 2nd place times after falling behind in the middle of the race.

This race was an incredible start to our season - our paddlers demonstrated an incredible ability to push themselves and had a great time bonding with teammates during our trip. The vets and newbies both trained hard over the past month, and each member of the team was rewarded for their hard work with a medal! This was a fantastic start to our season, and we're all motivated to keep training hard for Tempe in the Spring!

2024-2025 I Race Recaps

4/27/25- Season Finale at Baby Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival

The Baby Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival, hosted on April 27th at Marine Stadium in Long Beach, CA, marked the last race of our 2024-2025 racing season. We had a long day of 500-meter and 200-meter races, an opportunity not afforded to us last season when we only raced 500-meter races. Keeping with the momentum of our most recent race, our team aimed to land on the podiums for the final race of the season.

Both our boats put on strong performances, with results matching teams of the highest caliber in the dragon boat community. UCSD 1 made it into the 500-meter Division A semi-finals, but due to the festival's placement system, they were robbed of the opportunity to race in the finals by missing second place by 0.168 seconds. UCSD 2 advanced to the 500-meter Division C finals and secured the gold!

For the first time in a while, both of our boats landed in the same division for the 200-meter races and faced off against each other in the B-division finals. During the heated competition, UCSD 1 secured the gold with UCSD 2 close behind and securing the bronze!

As we wrap up the season, we can proudly look back on this race as a testament to the dedication our team has put into making this season a great one. The race day was filled with laughter and tears as we celebrated our last race with our seniors, soaking in all of the bonds we made over this past season and leaving with unforgettable memories.

3/29/2025 - Arizona Dragon Boat Festival

Following our recent loss in the 2024 College Cup Race and last year’s victory at the Annual Arizona Dragon Boat Festival, our team was determined to bring our best performance to this year’s race in Tempe Town Lake. This festival is a 2-day event set on the weekend of March 29th and 30th in which collegiate, mixed, open, and women’s teams compete in 250, 500, and 1000 meter races in their respective divisions. The qualifying rounds for all race categories were held on Saturday while the finals, knockout sprints, and “Guts & Glory” distance races were held on Sunday.

UCSD entered multiple boats into the following categories: Collegiate (UCSD Fit and UCSD Ready), Women (UCSD Toned), Opens (UCSD Tanned), 250M Knockout (same as collegiate), and Guts And Glory (same as collegiate). With the strive to outperform our results from our first race of the season and keep our title from last year, our Collegiate A boat was able to secure first place for the 500m Collegiate Division A Finals with a time of 2:03.55; and our Collegiate B boat barely missed placement by 0.30 seconds in the 500m Collegiate Division B Finals with a time of 2:15.61. Both boats have improved significantly in this event, shaving off 5+ seconds from last year’s times!

Our team brought the heat, and for the first time in many years, we placed in all of the events we were in! We secured 3rd in the Women's A and Opens divisions, narrowly missing 2nd place by less than a second for both races. Staying consistent with last year’s victories, UCSD Fit placed 3rd in the Div A knockout race, and UCSD Ready placed 1st in the Div D knockout race. Both knockout races were incredibly close - UCSD Ready had a photo-finish race and UCSD Fit was less than a second behind the first-place team. After not placing last year in the Guts and Glory event, our team was able to redeem ourselves! In the D Division race, our team pushed themselves beyond their limits and passed several boats after starting behind, finishing in 3rd. Our other boat was swapped from B Division to A Division at the last minute, but put in a great effort and came in 2nd, beating out some of the best teams on the West Coast. Although this category had previously not been our strong suit, we were able to climb the ranks after countless hours of brutal long-distance training.

We had an incredibly strong showing at the Arizona Dragon Boat Festival over the weekend. Bolstered by warm, sunny weather and great camaraderie, every single member of the team walked away with a win under their belt and came together to push ourselves towards success. With nearly half of the team being introduced to the sport only a couple of months ago, the accomplishments we earned in this race highlight the dedication and amazing capacity for growth in our paddlers and the dynamic strength of the coaching program. Our coaching staff has been working hard throughout the quarter to make sure everybody was prepared for the races, and the hard work put in by our coaches and team really paid off. This race was a fantastic way to finish Spring Break, and the team is already training hard for our next race in April!

11/10/24 - College Cup 2024

The 2024 College Cup race held at Lake Merced in San Francisco, CA, marks the first race of our season! This race is highly anticipated each Veterans Day weekend as it is the only race held annually exclusively for collegiate teams to compete for the title of the fastest College Team for Mixed, Open, and Women's 500m divisions. Having won the championship title last year, we went into the race with high hopes and prospects to defend our victory.

UCSD entered two crews into the Mixed Division, and one each for the Open and Women's divisions. As expected, all of our crews entered into the finals for their respective divisions! Our women and Open crews stayed consistent with last year's placements, placing 3rd and 4th respectively in their divisions. Our succession of these placements reflects our strong commitment to building on last year's achievements; reaching the final championships for the gender divisions is no longer an obstacle but an expectation for our team. Our Mixed B boat faced tough competition in the B division, narrowly missing placement and finishing in 5th place. Despite our placement, our Mixed B boat was the second-fastest Mixed B boat amongst all the participating teams; an astonishing feat considering a majority of the paddlers on that boat had just begun their Dragon Boat journey in the last 4 weeks! Our Mixed A boat fought hard to defend our title, and in one of the tightest races of the day, we sadly missed out on 1st place by 1.91 seconds. Although we could not keep the championship, we placed 3rd overall in the Mixed A division, an accomplishment that seemed impossible for us until our most recent comebacks.

Overall, this race was an incredible experience for our team, bringing us closer together in spirit and heart. We once again extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to our dedicated alumni for their unwavering support, especially since this race was made possible due to the volunteers of many collegiate alumni to run the race. This race has set the standard for the rest of our season, fueling our determination for our next race in Spring at the Arizona Dragon Boat Festival!

10/20/24 - San Diego International Dragon Boat Race

Our Dragon Boat team competed in the San Diego International Dragon Boat Race hosted at Mission Bay. They were still going through their recruitment process, so were only able to compete with one coed team in the 500m race. The team, consisting of 8 men and 12 women, was a blend of veterans and newcomers, which led to their paddling slightly out of sync at the beginning. However, their persistence and determination allowed them to power through to a second place finish in the competition!

The final results consist of the following times:

1st: UCI; 2:09.044

2nd: UCSD; 2:13.284

3rd: ASU; 2:15.476

4th: USC; 2:21.569

2023-2024 I Race Recaps

4/29/24 - Finale at the Baby Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival

The Baby Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival, hosted on April 28th at Marine Stadium, Long Beach, CA, marked the final race of our racing season. Representing our colors were two boats from UCSD: UCSD Bae and UCSD Pookie, both geared up for the 500-meter race. Keeping with the spirit of the year, the team aimed to continue our streak and end on the podium for the final race of the season.

Continuing their strong performance this year, UCSD Bae was able to muscle their way into Division A finals and was leading the heat. However, a steering misstep led them to pass into the lane of another boat,

forcing race officials to add a penalty of +20 seconds to the time. This unfortunately pushed UCSD Bae from first place to fourth with a final time of 2:24.249, but the team’s effort and strength showed through their performance on the water.

UCSD Pookie was able to secure a solid position in Division B, fighting hard for the podium. With a finishing time of 2:23.197, Pookie finished fourth but was only about 2 seconds away from their competitors in the heat.

Although the day was not without its share of challenges, the UCSD team emerged with heads held high, carrying valuable lessons learned and a strengthened resolve for future competitions. We hope to go into the upcoming year with the same energy that we approached this year, always improving our technique and our teamwork.

3/24/24 - Making Waves in Tempe, Arizona

Following the success of the 2024 College Cup, our team had high expectations for the experiences that the 18th Annual Arizona Dragon Boat Festival would bring. Due to the sudden flooding and closure of Tempe Town Lake in 2023, it had been 2 years since the UC San Diego’s Dragon Boat team was able to compete in Arizona. This festival is a 2-day event set on the weekend of March 23rd and 24th in which collegiate teams, mixed teams, open teams, and women’s teams compete in 250, 500, and/or 1000 meter races in their respective divisions. The qualifying rounds for all race categories were held on Saturday while the finals, knockout sprints, and “Guts & Glory” distance races were held on Sunday.

UCSD entered multiple boats for the Collegiate (UCSD Fresh and UCSD Fierce), Women’s (UCSD California Gurls), Opens (UCSD Fine), knockout races (same as collegiate), and Guts and Glory races (same as collegiate). Building on the foundation we had for the College Cup, our Collegiate A boat was able to secure the 500M Division A Finals first place with a time of 2:10.10; Our Collegiate B boat also secured 500M Division B Finals second place with a time of 2:20.17. These are the highest standings that our club has seen in this festival in many years, and has been a great showcase of our recent development. In contrast to prior years, our boats were also able to stand on the podium for both knockout races, with UCSD Fresh at 3rd place in Div A, and UCSD Fierce at 1st place in Div D. This year was also the first time in 5 years that UCSD has participated in the Guts and Glory division, a 1000M stamina based race. Having planned to do the race in previous years but with sudden setbacks stopping us, it was an incredible experience to train for and compete in a totally different category.

Through the races over the weekend, we were given the opportunity to compete and bond with many strong teams across the country, strengthening our connection with the community while also tightening our internal ties. The season so far has been an immensely fulfilling one, especially when looking back at the team’s growth throughout the years. As we consolidate our strength and technique, we hope to stay focused, continue challenging ourselves and bring our all into finishing out the season.

DRAGON BOAT