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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

2024 PDBC STAFF

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Henry Chow

Head Coach, Dragon Boat
 

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Paul Alba

COO
Asst Head Coach

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Jie Yi Kuang

CMO

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Kirsten Banaag

VP of Finance
Asst Coach

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Roxanne Chu

Asst Head Coach
 

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Jian Xu

Operations Manager
Asst Coach

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Lyndon Suarez

Asst Coach

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Romarc Marcos

Asst Coach

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Benjamin Wong

Head Coach, OC

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Brandon Pritts

Asst Coach, OC

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Gabriel Eipper

Asst Coach, OC

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Amanda Chan

Operations Manager:
Communications

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Van Sam

Operations Manager:
Logistics

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

WATER PRACTICE

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

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PHILLY HILLZ

Our Core Values

The values we built this club on

01. Culture

02. Camaraderie

03. Competition

04. Character

05. Community

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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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