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Welcome to
Pennsylvania Dragon Boat Club

WHERE ATHLETES ARE MADE IN PHILLY

TRAIN HARD. HAVE FUN.

Get exclusive access to dragon boat and outrigger canoe training from the goofiest coaches on the East Coast.

philly dragon boat

80

Members

4

Dragon Boats

9

Outrigger Canoes

280

Alumni

66

Races Competed

8

Coaches

Our Story

It all started in 2011...

A 23 year old Henry Chow had the bright idea to enter a dragon boat race with coworkers and Penn alumni, completely unprepared and overstuffed with carbs. We had 3 practices and carb-loaded the night before the race.

 

Needless to say, we were one of the slowest teams racing that day. We vowed, never again.

"We have a saying in our club. Anything is possible. This club is living proof."

- Henry Chow, Head Coach

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From Underdogs...

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...to National Champions

2025 PDBC STAFF

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Henry Chow

Head Coach, Dragon Boat
Janitor

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Paul Alba

President
Assistant Head Coach

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Jie Yi Kuang

Chief Marketing Officer

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Kirsten Banaag

Chief Financial Officer
Assistant Coach

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Vanessa Xie

Chief Operating Officer

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Ben Wong

Head Coach, OC
 

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Jian Xu

Operations Manager, Communications

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Brandon Pritts

Operations Manager, Docks
Assistant Coach

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Roxanne Chu

Assistant Head Coach

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Water Practice

Our dragon boat club holds open water practices at the Schuylkill River every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning during the dragon boat season.

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Philly Hillz

Paddlers and non-paddlers attend weekly off-season workouts at the Rocky Steps. Exercises include full-body calisthenics with a focus on team dynamics.

Our Core Values

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01. Guts

It takes guts to begin anything, especially something challenging like dragon boating where you might be stepping out of your comfort zone or facing the unknown.

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02. Grind

Keep the momentum - the daily commitment, the repetitive hard work, and the discipline to continue even when motivation dips. It's about perseverance where the real work happens.

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03. Grit

Push through to the end to overcome the final hurdles, to keep going when every muscle might be telling you to stop. It's about resilience, determination, and the mental toughness.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How is your club different?

We had humble beginnings as a clueless recreational team and grew ourselves into a nationally competitive race team.

How big is the commitment to join?

The commitment to dragon boat is as small as you want or as big as you want. Recreational members may practice once a month, whereas really dedicated may members practice 3x per week.

Do I need any prior experience swimming and paddling?

We are inclusive of all swim and paddling experience levels. Experience is not required. All of our top paddlers were once newbies. We also provide personal flotation devices for all paddlers.

Will i disrupt your practice if I am not paddling well?

No, absolutely not. As a beginner paddler, you will be sitting in the back and receiving personal coaching. Our goal is to help you be the best paddler you can be.

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Get in touch!

1233 Martin Luther King Jr Dr.

Philadelphia, PA 19131

We'll be in touch!

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