Sarasota International Dragon Boat Festival

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The Sarasota International Dragon Boat Festival took place at Nathan Benderson Park on Saturday, May 20, welcoming both competitive and recreational teams.

“What’s unique about this sport and what’s unique about this event is the opportunity to bring all kinds of people together to compete on the water,” said Aaron Soroka, GWN Dragon Boat CEO. “This sport of dragon boating is so inclusive, so we have a wide range of participants from a national para dragon team, to a team from Orlando called the Dueling Dragons which is made up of police officers and disadvantaged youth, we have breast cancer survivors and we have local corporations also competing using it as a team building opportunity. And so there’s real inclusivity within the sport.”

Race distances include 200 m, 500 m, and a 2k pursuit for sport division teams, while community division teams raced 3 by 500 m, according to their website.