Official Race Rules & Regulations



I. Conditions of Race Entry. Each Participant Agrees to:

1. Register and pay your entry fee to Hawaii Dragon Boat Race Association.
2. Abide by the race rules and the instructions of the race officials.
3. Sign a waiver prior to the race regarding any claims against the Hawaii Dragon Boat Association.
4. Use only the equipment provided by the Race Committee, including boats, paddles, and drums.
5. Wear a life jacket if you are a poor or non-swimmer. You may wear a personal life jacket or request race officials to provide one for you. Each team will be responsible for its own paddlers.

II. Division Awards Race.

The Division Awards Race will allow teams within a specific industry to compete for the appropriate industry trophy. There will be trophies awarded to the 1st place winners in the following proposed list of categories/ industries. You may enter as many race teams as you wish to compete for the same industry trophy and/or a different industry trophy as long as each race team pays a separate entry fee. If you are a large entity with many departments, or a family of companies, we will organize inter-departmental races for your company.

If you should enter a race division and there are not enough race teams registered in your division, we will place your race team in a division that may be closely related to your line of business.

Proposed Industry Cups (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):

1. City & County of Honolulu Department Cup;
2. State of Hawaii Department Cup;
3. U.S. Government Department Cup;
4. CINCPAC Cup (Military Cup);
5. Hotel Cup;
6. Firemen’s Cup;
7. Police Department / Public Safety / Private Security Cup;
8. Financial Institution / Banker’s Cup;
9. Credit Union Cup;
10. Chinese Societies Cup;
11. Martial Arts Cup;
12. Energy (Petroleum) Cup;
13. Food & Beverage Distribution and Produce Cup;
14. Telecommunications (telephone, long distance, cellular, radio, etc.) Cup;
15. Hawaii Canoe Regatta Cup;
16. Union Cup (All public and private union groups);
17. Transportation Cup (Air, land and sea type of travel);
18. 50th State Jaycees Cup;
19. Master Senior’s Cup (Paddlers must be 45 years of age);
20. International Cup (out of state teams);
21. Women’s Cup (limited to women only);
22. High School Cup;
23. University Cup;
24. Top 100 Businesses in Hawaii Cup;
25. Small Business Cup;
26. Chamber of Commerce Cup;
27. Celebrity Cup (competition between the Mayor’s team, Governor’s team, City Council team, Senate team and House of Representatives team); and
28. Special Cup – for inter-departmental races.

III. Open Race Division.

The Open Race Division will consist of a single-elimination competition. Teams will be organized into heats at random. All entry teams registered for Saturday, Division Awards Race will automatically be registered to compete in the Open Race Division on Sunday, UNLESS you do not wish to compete.




NOTE: You do not have to compete in both the Division Awards Race and the Open Race Division. You may elect to race for one day only (either Saturday or Sunday). However, the entry fee per team will remain the same regardless of your selection.



IV. Team Composition.

1. Each team shall consist of 19 members: 16 paddlers, 1 drummer, 1 flag catcher
and 1 steers person.
2. Race officials will provide a race-sponsored steersperson for any team that requests one.
3. All non-race-sponsored steerspersons must be checked out and cleared for steering prior to race day. This will be done at the practice sessions prior to race day.
4. Only steerspersons who have been checked out and cleared by a race official will be allowed to steer on race day. There will be no exceptions. Race officials will provide a steersperson on race day for any team who does not have an officially cleared steersperson.
5. All teams are allowed 10 alternate paddlers. Alternate paddlers may be rotated in the racing lineup for any race.
6. If members of any team do not show up on race day, the team captain may fill the vacancies will alternate of substitute paddlers, including paddlers from other teams, as long as they sign a waiver and meet the restrictions of the division. However, no team may race with more than 10 alternate or substitute paddlers.
7. All teams must race with a flag catcher, a drummer and a steersperson in addition to their 16 paddlers.
8. There will be no gender and/or age restrictions, other than the Women’s and Master Seniors race.
9. For any paddlers under the age of 13, either a parent or guardian for each paddler must sign a waiver. It is mandatory and the responsibility of the team captain to regulate this compliance.
10. For any race team (other than Women’s race), a combination of male or female paddlers may race.

V. Race Format.

1. Due to the large number of entries there will be two (2) days of racing. Saturday for the Division Awards Race. Sunday for all teams to race. For each day, each race team will consist of single elimination heats. Teams outside of Hawaii will have the opportunity to race in their division and also in the International Division.
2. Three teams will race in each heat, and only the winner will advance. The second and third place teams will be eliminated.
3. All teams will race in heats of 3 teams until one final heat of 3 teams is reached.
4. Heat and lane selections will be done at random.
5. Lanes will be numbered as follows: Lane 1-inside or closest to the beach, Lane 2-center, Lane 3- outside or closest to the reef.
6. Dragon boats will be assigned to the lanes as follows: Lane 1-the Honolulu (red boat), Lane 2-the Taiwan (blue boat), Lane 3-the Kaoshiung (yellow boat).

VI. Pre-Race Instructions.

1. A schedule of events with starting times for all of the preliminary heats will be distributed to each team captain prior to race day.
2. Division Awards Race day is Saturday. The first heat will begin at 8:00 a.m. sharp and will run approximately every 10 minutes. The Finals will be held on Sunday and begin at 8:00 a.m. sharp.
3. Team Captains or a designated representative of your team should report to Ala Moana Beach Park at the Race check-in Tent in the middle of the beach at least one hour prior to the starting time of their heat.
4. Times for semi-final and final heats will be announced as soon as they can be determined by race officials.
5. Paddlers must wear an annual Hawaii Dragon Boat Festival race T-shirt, or their organization team or club T-shirt or any type of clothing that represents their team (e.g. Head bands, no t-shirt, something uniformed). Race Teams may elect to take advantage of having their team or club logo printed on a T-shirt at reasonable cost by the Hawaii Dragon Boat official T-shirt printer. All artwork shall be submitted as early as possible to ensure that your shirt colors are selected and your logos are printed in time for race day.
6. Team captains shall insure that all poor or non-swimmers are wearing a life jacket. Race officials will provide as many life jackets as you request.
7. All heats, including Semi-final and Final races will start from both ends of the racecourse. Be sure to keep checking-in with the Race Tent.

VII. Race Instructions.

1. Race officials will call teams to report for their heats 10 minutes before the start of the heat. Failure to report in a timely manner may result in disqualification and that team will be given last place in their heat.
2. Steerspersons should get their crews onboard and move their boat into a starting position as quickly as possible.
3. Steerspersons shall hold their boats in position and wait for the starters instructions. “Hold water” shall mean that paddlers should put their paddles in the water to stop the boat from drifting forward. “Back water” shall mean that paddlers should put their paddles in the water and row to move the boat backwards.
4. When the starter is satisfied that all boats are properly lined up, he/she shall say, Paddles up” and sound the air horn for the start.
5. Any boat that crosses the start line prior to the sound of the air horn will be disqualified for a false start and assigned last place in the heat. No heat will be re-started for a false start.

VIII. Race Conduct.

1. The correct course for each boat is a straight line from the start line to the finish line. Each boat must remain in its lane and must not interfere with other boats.
2. If race officials determine that one boat has interfered with another by not keeping a proper course, the interfering boat shall be disqualified and assigned last place in the heat.
3. The official racecourse is 250 meters, HOWEVER (SUBJECT TO CHANGE). Both ends of the racecourse will be marked with a set of buoys and colored flags. The color of the flags will correspond to the color of the boats.
4. The flag catch will constitute the finish of the race. The flag catcher must remain on the boat and demonstrate that he/she has possession of the flag.
5. The flag catcher may step up on the dragon’s head and position himself/herself at any time during the race.
6. If the flag catcher fails to grab the flag or drops it, the team will be disqualified and assigned last place in the heat. If 2 of more teams fail to grab their flags or drops them, the heat results for the disqualified teams will be determined by their race times.
7. No other team member besides the flag catcher may grab the flag.
8. The flag catcher may only grab the flag in his/her teams assigned lane, the same colored flag and his/her team’s boat. If the flag catcher grabs the wrong flag, his/her team will be disqualified and assigned last place in the heat. The team whose flag was taken will place in the heat as if they had successfully grabbed their flag.
9. All 19 members must remain in the boat from start to finish, especially the flag catcher. If the flag catcher dives off the boat to grab the flag or falls in the water after grabbing the flag, the team will be disqualified and assigned last place in the heat.
10. If any team member falls overboard during the race, the boat must stop and pick him/her up. Failure to pick up a team member overboard will result in disqualification and a last place assignment in the heat.
11. If race officials determine that any team has deliberately swamped or capsized another boat, that team will be disqualified, assigned last place in the heat, and may be refused further participation in the races.
12. At the conclusion of each heat, the head judge will determine the official order of finish.
13. After crossing the finish line, team member shall remain in their boats and return to the beach immediately.
14. In the event of a tie between any boats, each boat in the tie will advance to the next round of competition. In the event of a tie in a final heat, each boat in the tie will race again in a tiebreaker heat.

IX. Safety.

1. If a paddler breaks or drops his/her paddle, he/she should not attempt to retrieve it. Each boat will carry two spare paddles.
2. All poor or non-swimmers are required to wear a life jacket.
3. If a boat swamps, team members should stay with the boat until the water safety officials arrive.

X. Protests.

1. Protests may be filed only by the team captains.
2. Protests must be filed with the Race Director within 5 minutes after the completion of the disputed race.
3. The Protest Committee shall consist of the Race Director and two finish line judges. Their decisions shall be final.