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Having participated in other sports, I have not found one with the social aspects and camaraderie of dragon boating. Even in Malaysia when the races were starting, we would chat with other teams and when we finished racing we would all be congratulating each other for a good race, win or lose.

— Stefan Nowak, Pickering, Ontario

But how did this ancient traditional activity develop into today’s modern sport? Dragon boating is almost part of daily life in Hong Kong and one of the oldest Chinese traditions. It is not surprising that, in 1975, the Hong Kong Tourist Association (now the Hong Kong Tourist Board) decided that dragon boat racing, with its combination of traditional sporting activity and associated festival of Chinese culture, could be a unique way to promote Hong Kong as a tourist venue.

The first international dragon boat race was then held in Hong Kong in 1976, with a crew from the Japanese city of Nagasaki invited to race. This race launched the modern era of dragon boat racing.