Dragon Boating

The 3rd Annual Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival

On October 16, 2010, please join Women Playing For T.I.M.E.® and the Central Florida community at the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival, hosted by Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney's Wide World of Sports®. The event is being held at Downtown Disney.

Women Playing For T.I.M.E. and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando are the charitable beneficiaries of this festival.  This years’ event is expected to attract over 1,500 team participants and 10,000 spectators.

Corporate teams, Pink teams and individual paddlers are needed!

Women Playing For T.I.M.E. has set a goal of signing up 20 new corporate teams to participate in this year's event. Corporate teams from the Orlando Rowing Club, Orlando Health, Consulate Health Care and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando are already committed. Would your company like to participate in an incredible day of team building and community camaraderie?

There are many benefits for sponsorship, participating as a vendor and for forming a corporate dragon boat team! The Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival at Walt Disney World Resort, provides a unique opportunity to integrate your brand into one of the premier annual dragon boat events world-wide.

Due to the nature of the sport, the event puts you in front of a diverse group of consumer and business networks. Within a captivating environment with a burst of activity happening throughout the festival grounds, this truly innovative avenue provides interaction with key influencers with buying power. 

To learn more, watch this excellent video about Dragon Boating and the 2010 Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival! We look forward to seeing you there!

To preview videos and information from the 2009 Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival, Click here to see the Growing Bolder Video, Click here to see the GWN/Convention News Video, Click here to see photo gallery.

Fall Dragon Boat Camp at WDW

If you were unable to attend the Spring Dragon Boat Camp, register to attend the fall Dragon Boat Training Camp on Wednesday, October 13 - Friday, October 15, 2010 at the Port Orleans Resort at Disney. Registration includes two-day paddling sessions. Special Pricing for WPFT members $175.00. Click here to register!

Dragon Boating Practices at Lake Fairview

Come out and join Women Playing For T.I.M.E. and the Orlando Rowing Club at Lake Fairview to learn the sport of Dragon Boating! Due to growing demand, practice schedules and new teams are being formed every week. Adult males, females and breast cancer survivors are are welcome to participate. Practices are held at the Orlando Rowing Club, located off Lee Road on Lake Fairview.

The cost is $10 per person and practices usually last one hour. No experience is necessary. To find out more information, please visit the Orlando Rowing Club website. Or, take a look at this fun video about the recent Dragon Boat Mini-Camp held on Lake Fairview in March, 2010.

If you're looking to get into shape, learn a new sport, meet some new and wonderful people, Dragon Boating could be perfect for you! If you plan to attend, RSVP on the Orlando Rowing Club website. Plan to wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing that will allow you to move freely and can get a little damp!

Need more information about Dragon Boating? Watch this short clip about the sport. Trust us...you will have a blast!

Asia Trend Magazine

Watch this exciting video produced by Asia Trend Magazine about the arrival celebration for the new WPFT Dragon Boat at Orlando Rowing Club located on the shores of Lake Fairview. WPFT greatly appreciates the help and support of Asia Trend Magazine and it's readership patrons.

Central Florida has its first official dragon boat!

Dragon boat racing originated in China more than 2,500 years ago and is now one of the fastest-growing sports in North America. It’s especially popular among breast cancer survivors, which is why the local fundraising group Women Playing For T.I.M.E., in partnership with M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando and the Orlando Rowing Club, are celebrating a new dragon boat program. 

Watch this video to see the entire journey, from an idea to race a dragon boat to bringing Central Florida's first dragon boat to the Orlando Rowing Club: The three groups had a dragon awakening ceremony at Lake Fairview before launching the boat. Women Playing For T.I.ME. received a pledge of $250,000 from local philanthropist Harriett Lake to purchase the boat and fund the development of the program. The boat is named in honor of Harriett’s daughter, Shelley, a breast cancer survivor.

The Pink Dragon Boat Movement

Dragons are mythical legendary creatures that represent the primal forces of nature and the universe, including power and strength.  They are associated with wisdom and longevity, and are thought to possess some form of magic.  Chinese dragons, specifically, are benevolent.   For many breast cancer survivors, Pink Dragon Boat Racing has come to signify support for breast cancer awareness and to provide hope for survivors that there is high quality of life after breast cancer. 

The movement began in Canada in 1996, with a team under the medical guidance of a sports medicine physician who found that paddling not only provides a thorough cardio routine, but  is also a great exercise for breast cancer patients.  Additional studies have shown that paddling builds upper body strength, is beneficial to the recovery process, and helps to prevent  lymphedema, a common side effect of breast cancer treatment.  Pink Dragon Boat Racing has since become a prominent sport among breast cancer survivors worldwide.  

Pink Dragon Boating is now recognized as a global sport and Pink Dragon Racing Teams are organizing everywhere around the world. In Canada, for example, Canadians Abreast, established in 2003, takes their message of hope to areas without breast cancer survivor dragon boat teams. Their goal is to give hope and encouragement by sharing stories of the physical, mental and spiritual strength and the benefits of dragon boating. Throughout the United States,

Pink Dragon Boat Racing Teams are forming from Portland, OR, and Princeton, NJ, to Pittsburgh, PA, and Atlanta, GA. There are presently three racing teams located in Florida – Miami, Tampa, and more recently, Central Florida.   

Dragon Boat Racing

Dragon Boat Racing is rapidly becoming known as the “ultimate team sport” and the world's fastest-growing water sport. This 2,500-year old Chinese inspired sport involves 20 team members paddling in unison to a drummer’s beat in a long, narrow boat, decorated at the bow and stern with a dragon's head and tail. 

Dragon Boat Racing is recognized for the camaraderie, strength and endurance fostered among the team participants.  The races feature an exhilarating combination of competition in concert with entertainment that attracts a diverse group of people with a broad range of interests.

An established sport in Central Florida, one of the biggest Dragon Boat events is the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival, held annually at Walt Disney World Resort and hosted by Disney's Wide World of Sports®.  This year's event will be held on October 17, 2009, and will attract over 2,200 team participants and 30,000 spectators.

The organizer for the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival is Great White North (GWN), a Canadian-based company. GWN is the driving force in developing the presence of Dragon Boat Racing at an elite and grass roots level in communities across Canada and the United States. 

Our Sponsors

For more information, please contact Lynda Canatay at 321-841-2272 or click here to request more information.

Gift in Kind Donations

For more information, please contact Lynda Canatay at 321-841-2272 or click here to request more information.

FLORIDA DISCLOSURE STATEMENT A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE, 800.435.7352 WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. THE FOUNDATION IS A REGISTERED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION (CH577).

Isleworth Golf TournamentOctober 16, 2010 - Walt Disney World Resort



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