Dragon Boat Racing history in Calgary

Dragon Boat Races have been held in Calgary at the Glenmore Reservoir since 1992, when it was organized by the Calgary Canoe Club and the Hong Kong Canada Business Association. Every year teams from across the city and North America participate in the festival, which showcases Chinese cultural heritage with demonstrations of kung-fu, dancing and singing, tai chi, fashion, and the traditional lion dance.

There are women’s, men’s and mixed divisions competing in the Calgary Festival. Some teams are paddling clubs like the Red Eyes, while others are made up of employees of local businesses or organizations. Some of the women’s teams are made up solely of breast cancer survivors and one of the highlights of the dragon boat festivals is the breast cancer remembrance ceremony.

Red Eyes Paddling Club history (A.K.A. - Where did we get our name?)

The Red Eyes Paddling Club was founded in 1998 by Jacques Godin, a Calgary-based flight attendant for Air Canada who named the team in honour of the Calgary-Toronto red-eye flights he often worked.

Though no longer a Red Eye, Jacques continues to paddle competitively locally and internationally, and still coaches our team on occasion. We are made up of at least 22 men and women, and are always actively recruiting new members. Many alumni also continue with the team, or drop in to coach, paddle or help fundraise.

While our main goal is to have fun, we are also a competitive team. The Red Eyes have competed in the Calgary, Lethbridge, Kelowna, Edmonton and Banff Dragon Boat Festivals and have won bronze and gold medals in the mixed, women’s and men’s divisions.