| I've always been intrigued at the thought of starting a | | | | amount of money for a sport, and is average for |
| dragon boat club. Though, it doesn't sound hard nor is it | | | | dragon boat membership fees. (Other teams can |
| easy and it does require good leadership, having good | | | | charge $100-$250, I’ve seen). For a 22 person |
| people and strong time management. | | | | team, we had a budget of $3,300, which funded 8 |
| Here's three simple steps below in starting a club: | | | | weeks worth of practices, entry into a couple of |
| 1. Get a boat. | | | | races, and team shirts for everyone. |
| The first step is to make sure that there is a dragon | | | | 2. Sponsorship. Many teams you will see are |
| boat club in your area. These "clubs" are organisations | | | | sponsored. There are many corporations that have |
| or associations who run a practice site and rent out | | | | their own team, for example, the "IBM Dragonboat |
| dragon boats. Teams (even elite teams) do not buy | | | | Team" or "Deloitte Dragons". I think it's perfectly |
| their own boats; everyone rents from a club. Dragon | | | | reasonable to ask your company to sponsor your |
| boat clubs offer rental rates for their boats and offer | | | | team, even if the team isn't entirely made up company |
| services like coaching and steering. | | | | employees. Or you can go seek out sponsorship from |
| So, first be sure there is a club relatively close by. If | | | | other companies. Sponsors may give you money or |
| your city has any flat water (i.e. lake, bay, or slow | | | | may “donate” t-shirts or hats to you. The best |
| moving waters), then there's a good chance that there | | | | sponsorship situation is when you sell, what I call, |
| is some paddling activity going on. The best thing to do | | | | “naming rights.” You’ll be surprised how |
| is search in your area under Google. Try key words | | | | many companies will give you several thousand dollars |
| like “canoe” clubs or “outrigger paddling” | | | | just to name your team after them. Smaller companies |
| clubs in addition to “dragon boat”. Remember | | | | may still give you a few hundred for wearing their logo |
| that many places that rent out canoes also rent out | | | | on your t-shirts. It’s a lot of work finding a sponsor, |
| dragon boats. | | | | but can be a great pay off and eliminate any financial |
| 2. Get people. | | | | head aches for you later. |
| After making sure there is a place to dragon boat, you | | | | 3. Fundraisers. Many dragon boat teams fund raise |
| need to make sure you have enough people on your | | | | year-round. Not only does this help offset costs, but it |
| team. Getting people also allows you to start getting | | | | is also a great team-building idea. There are several |
| money, which is what you’ll need to pay for the | | | | types of fundraisers, that I can go on and on about, but |
| boat practices, ie. the next step. (So steps 1, 2, and 3 | | | | here are some primary examples: |
| really go hand-in-hand). | | | | * Easy-work, low-pay. There are a number of bars, |
| You need 20 paddlers minimum, but I recommend | | | | and restaurants that have active sports club fund |
| recruiting 22 to 24 members to your team. The boat | | | | raising joint ventures. An example from a Dragonboat |
| has exactly 20 seats, so having more than 20 | | | | Club who has gone into a joint-venture with a local pub |
| members will give you some spare paddlers. Spares | | | | is that they give you x-number of tickets worth a |
| are just as important as regular paddlers. Typically, of | | | | burger and a beer. They charge you $5 per ticket but |
| your group of 22 people, 2 or 3 people aren’t going | | | | you can sell the ticket for however much you want |
| to come to the practice or race. This means you'll | | | | (usually $6 or $7) and pocket the difference. The bar |
| have exactly 20 people, which is perfect. | | | | wins because you’re bringing in customers, and you |
| Other than paddlers, you will also need a drummer and | | | | win because you’re making money without much |
| a steersperson. These are both critical roles, but for | | | | effort. Of course, with just $1 or $2 profit, you’ll |
| some reason, I find it harder to recruit people for these | | | | have to sell about 500 tickets before having enough to |
| positions. A skilled steersperson, however, is always in | | | | pay for one race. |
| high demand. (A status not unlike a good hockey | | | | * Hard-work, low-pay. I see a lot of teams holding |
| goalie.) So it pays to have one person on your team | | | | BBQ, especially in suburban areas. This is definitely a |
| devoted to and specifically trained just to steer. You'll | | | | fun fundraiser, and good for building team spirit, but |
| also save a lot of money over "hiring" someone to | | | | definitely low in return. During one 8-hour BBQ, a team |
| steer for you. Drummers, on the other hand, do not | | | | raised just under $400. A lot of money for one day, |
| require a lot of training, and do not need to be at every | | | | but when you consider there were 20 of us working |
| practice. A "good" drummer is someone who is small, | | | | at the BBQ, that averages out to a salary of $2.50 an |
| light, and really loud. Drummers can be one of your | | | | hour. We figured that just donating an hour’s pay |
| spare paddlers too. | | | | from our salaries would be more than 5 times that |
| 3. Get money. | | | | amount. (Of course, if you’re students, then $2.50 |
| Once you have enough paddlers, and have found a | | | | hour is pretty decent). |
| place to practice, you’ll have to get money. Money | | | | * Hard-work, high-pay. The most successful |
| is important because dragon boat is an expensive | | | | fundraisers that I’ve had are selling tickets to a club. |
| sport. Costs are not incurred individually as they are in | | | | Typically club organizers, will “give you the door” |
| other sports (i.e. hockey, where each players goes out | | | | for the early hours of a slow night. This means you |
| to buy hockey sticks, pads, skates, and tons of | | | | can sell tickets in advance, and collect cover from |
| equipment). In dragon boat, all the necessary equipment | | | | party-goers. Cover can be anywhere between $7 and |
| is included in the price of a boat rental. But because | | | | $10 and you should expect that with a team of 20 you |
| you rent the boat “as a team”, the costs are | | | | can sell 200 tickets to a club night. The payoff can |
| also charged “per team”. You also race as a | | | | therefore be as much as $2000 in one night! Of |
| team, and therefore incur entry fees as a team. | | | | course, there is a lot of work in hustling tickets, and if |
| These fees often need to be paid up front, or close to | | | | your event is poor, no one will ever go to another one. |
| up front, and can be several hundreds of dollars. A | | | | So those are the first three key steps in starting a |
| beginner team should have at least 6 practice | | | | dragon boat team: |
| sessions before going into a race. As you can see, | | | | 1. Get a dragon boat |
| these costs add up, even when shared amongst 22 | | | | 2. Get people |
| people, so make sure you have a committed team | | | | 3. Get money |
| first that will split that cost. | | | | It almost doesn't matter what order you follow these |
| There are several revenue models in the world of | | | | steps in, but you must have these three criteria before |
| dragon boat and I’ll list a few for you here. | | | | you can move ahead on anything else. In future entries, |
| 1. Membership fees. On average most team members | | | | I'll go further into details such as budgeting, creating a |
| are charged $150 each. This is a very reasonable | | | | strong roster, and finding coaches. |