Central Region Dragon Boat Association

Central Region Dragon Boat Association We are the regional body for dragon boating in the Central region. Our club teams reside in Wellington, Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay in Aotearoa.

Were a registered charity and a regional sporting organisation affiliated to NZDBA. DM us to find a crew 🐲🧡 CRDBA is a registered charity and the dragon boat RSO for the Southern half of the North Island

Want to represent Central Region in 2027?Expressions of Interest are now open for our 2027 Regional Representative crews...
10/10/2026

Want to represent Central Region in 2027?

Expressions of Interest are now open for our 2027 Regional Representative crews!

We’re looking for paddlers, sweeps and drummers keen to take the next step and represent our region at NZDBA National Championships in 2027.

If you’re racing with your club at Nationals and are ready to take your dragon boating to the next level, this is your opportunity to put your name forward.

🐲 Paddlers, sweeps & drummers apply
🐲 EOIs close Sunday 25 October

Complete the EOI form below: ⁠https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRE1BgIAU15FlsFO1nFN5j93HeoJwjXcaZT1sZcHbu39TNtg/viewform

Want to help shape our 2027 Central Region representative teams? 🐉Expressions of interest are now open for coaches for o...
04/10/2026

Want to help shape our 2027 Central Region representative teams? 🐉

Expressions of interest are now open for coaches for our regional representative teams for NZDBA National Championships 2027

We’re looking for passionate, experienced people who are keen to get involved, support our paddlers and help build strong teams for the season ahead.

Interested? We’d love to hear from you.

📧 Email [email protected] to apply or find out more.

EOIs close Tuesday 20 October.

Volunteers needed! Our Regional Champs are coming up on Sunday 1 November at Henley Lake, Masterton and we need a few ex...
26/09/2026

Volunteers needed!

Our Regional Champs are coming up on Sunday 1 November at Henley Lake, Masterton and we need a few extra hands to help us out on the day.

- Got friends or family coming along to watch?
- Not paddling but still keen to be involved?

We’ve got a variety of roles to fill and no experience is needed.

If you can help, email Kathryn at [email protected] or flick us a DM with your email address and we’ll be in touch.

🐲 CRDBA Regional Championship
📅 Sunday 1 November 2026
📍 Henley Lake, Masterton

Come hang out with us for the day and help us make it all happen 🙌🏼

04/09/2026

Some more gold for our ladies in pink 💕

Regional Championships are back! 🐉Mark your calendars! The Central Region Dragon Boat Championships are coming to Henley...
13/07/2026

Regional Championships are back! 🐉

Mark your calendars! The Central Region Dragon Boat Championships are coming to Henley Lake, Masterton on Sunday 1 November 2026.

🚣‍♀️ Racing includes:
• 200m Small Boat
• 500m Standard Boat
• 2km Standard Boat

This is a sanctioned event, with clubs from across the Central Region coming together for a day of competition and plenty of great racing.

📍 Henley Lake, Masterton
🗓 Sunday 1 November
⏰ 8:00am – 5:00pm (times TBC)

Registration details will be released soon, so keep an eye on our page for updates.

Are you coming?

Development Officer needed 🧡Please complete your interest below by 9th July ⬇️ CRDBA are looking for a Development Offic...
30/06/2026

Development Officer needed 🧡

Please complete your interest below by 9th July ⬇️

CRDBA are looking for a Development Officer to join them, with the aim of uplifting and supporting the level of paddling across the whole region. This would encompass Regional Representative Development, potential NZDBA & Black Dragons liaison duties, and anything else you’d like to bring to the role.

You will have been paddling in the CRDBA region for a couple of years, experienced more than one NZDBA Nationals as a club paddler and have been selected as a CRDBA Regional Representative paddler at least once. You may also have other sporting or leadership experience that you can share with us. But mostly you want to see our region continue to grow and improve!

This role could be shared, particularly if it makes the role more accessible for you, or helps with coverage across our geographically wide region. It is not an executive role, and so is not voted on by the community. Applications will be assessed and the role appointed by the CRDBA Executive committee. It is a non paid role, and the term is from selection for 12 months, when it can be reviewed and both parties can agree to continue or reassess the role.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgEV14W-Ia8CIWxp5ZE3nzFdj2-RWhx-rh9WFqqmSKyibLEQ/viewform?usp=send_form

With the announcement of the representative races being cancelled last weekend due to bad weather, we’re bringing you th...
02/04/2026

With the announcement of the representative races being cancelled last weekend due to bad weather, we’re bringing you the hard launch of our new CRDBA racing singlets.

Designed by paddler Lou Kurtz’s talented daughter, Hinewhakaruhiakiterangi Manaena, we are immensely proud and excited to showcase her artwork as our latest merchandise.

Still holding onto our region’s colours - green and orange, while saying goodbye to the “road cone” designs the nation loved to point out 😂

A huge thank you to for the quick printing turnaround in preparation for last weekend 💚

And thanks to our models from for showcasing the new look 🔥

The story behind the design and art to follow 🐲

Central Region Dragon Boat Association Representative squads for 2026 🐲 Women’s Standard Premier crew coached by Ivan Ka...
25/03/2026

Central Region Dragon Boat Association Representative squads for 2026

🐲 Women’s Standard Premier crew coached by Ivan Karaitiana and Anita Taggart

🐲 Women’s Small A and C crew coached by Ewen McDonald

Congratulations to all those selected to represent our region and clubs.






Paddle hard

We’re excited to be launching the new Central Region Dragon Boat Association logo at Nationals 2026 this weekend.The des...
25/03/2026

We’re excited to be launching the new Central Region Dragon Boat Association logo at Nationals 2026 this weekend.

The design incorporates both a taniwha and a dragon, representing the strength, heritage and spirit of our region coming together on the water.

A big thank you to and Justine for creating this for us, we really appreciate the time and creativity that went into bringing it together.

You’ll see it featured on some of our representative crew merch across a few races this weekend. Keep an eye out on the water! 🐉

New Sweep Accreditation - Central Region 🐉Over the past 18 months, Central Region Dragon Boat Association has welcomed a...
24/03/2026

New Sweep Accreditation - Central Region 🐉

Over the past 18 months, Central Region Dragon Boat Association has welcomed a number of newly accredited sweeps. This series recognises the people who’ve stepped up, put in the mahi, and earned their latest sweep accreditation.

Sweeps lead from the back of the boat - steering, coaching, and bringing crews together. They’re leaders, coaches, and a vital part of every team.

👏 Congratulations to Joe Grace aka Gracie
📍 Club: Pōneke Watersports
🎓 Level Three Sweep Accreditation

Gracie, known to many around the country, has been sweeping for a few years now. He’s the most recent sweep to receive his accreditation, just in time for Nationals 2026. 🐉👏

You would’ve seen Mr Gracie on the back of plenty of crews this festival season, sweeping, coaching, and always having a great time … sometimes with a phone in hand making sure he captured the content required. 📱😄

A familiar face, a steady hand on the sweep oar, and always bringing the smiles to every crew he jumps on.

Words from our regions President, Dave Elliot:

Welcome to ( Gracie ) alias Joe Grace who after 3 years of up and down has finally managed to go through crash free, post Wellington Festival to attain L3 Sweep Accreditation. Give Joe a big welcome to the sweep family.



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