OCT 4, 2025
FOSTER CITY, CA
SF BAY AREA DRAGON BOAT
FALL SPRINTS
COME TO RACE, STAY TO PLAY!
Come race the Sprints! We guarantee an adrenaline-pumping great time!
Sign up now and get a chance to win a cool cash prize for racing!
FOSTER CITY, CA
OCT 4, 2025
SF BAY AREA
DRAGON BOAT
FALL SPRINTS
COME TO RACE, STAY TO PLAY!
Come race the Sprints! We guarantee an adrenaline-pumping great time!
Sign up now and get a chance to win a cool cash prize for racing!
The Bay Area Dragons (BAD) is the first, founding dragon boat club in Northern California, founded in 1996 by our Canadian founders, when they moved here and found out that dragon boat racing did not exist! Our non-profit organization is the Bay Area Dragon Boat Foundation.
BAD began with 2 boats having practices in San Francisco by the pier, growing the sport from 1 humble team to spreading the racing bug that has sprouted many more dragon boat clubs over the years. BAD hosted the first dragon boat race festival in San Francisco over 28 years ago. This year 2025, BAD celebrates our 30th anniversary!
BAD has been hosting an annual summer dragon boat race since the early 2000s, with a new festival name change 14 years ago and in 2024 we welcomed the Year of the Dragon with a new Competitive Fall Sprints invitational race format for competitive and recreational teams!
Come join the Fall Sprints Regatta and enter our exciting dragon waters on the beautiful lagoons in Foster City, California! We’ve got new boats and new gear for a fun weekend of competitive racing!
Foster City is just 15 minutes drive from the SFO airport, 30 minutes drive north to downtown San Francisco, and 30 minutes heading south to Silicon Valley. It is central to everything and a great base for your racing and sightseeing vacation to the SF Bay Area.
Thank you for kicking off this summer with us at our home base of Foster City, with a beautiful lagoon, great spectator viewing along the park boardwalk, and spacious grassy areas for teams to relax on. Come for racing, stay for vacation!
RACE REGISTRATION IS OPEN from May 5, 2025 through August 15, 2025.
Please email race@bayareadragons.org with any questions.
REGISTRATION
The SF Bay Area Dragon Boat Competitive Sprints will be held on October 4, 2025 at Leo Ryan Park in Foster City, CA.
Sign up now and get a chance to win a cool $$$ cash prize for racing!
Wake up your speed demon and get your adrenaline rush racing madly down our beautiful lagoon! After racing, enjoy a vacation covering the Napa wine country, San Francisco's rich food and culture scene, and the technology hub of Silicon Valley! End your racing season with a blast! COME TO RACE, STAY TO PLAY!
Team Entry Registration opens on May 5, 2025 and closes on August 15, 2025 or when the race grid is full. Sign up now and don’t miss out!
RACE FEES
Mixed Team Entry: Early bird $400 (until June 30), $500 (until Aug 15 or when race grid full)
Registration Fee is for a standard mixed team or women’s team. A women’s team will be competing against mixed teams. There will be a separate women's division if there are enough womens team entries. There will be a separate open division race if there are enough open team entries.
Team Entry is confirmed when registration fee is paid in full.
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■ Race course will be the standard 250m distance.
■ Each mixed team consists of 20 paddlers (10 male, 10 female) with up to 4 backups.
ROSTER CAP = Maximum of 24 paddlers per team roster.
■ You need 18 to 20 people to form a team, not including the drummer and steersperson There must be a minimum of 18 paddlers to race and a maximum of 10 male paddlers in a race.
■ Each team needs to bring their own drummer and certified steersperson (comp-race certified from your own city’s competitive race). Beginner steersperson are not allowed. Drummers and steersperson will be provided upon request based on availability.
■ The minimum age to race is 13.
■ Each paddler must sign a race waiver electronically prior to the Race. Team Captains will receive the Online Waiver Link after race registration is closed.
■ Team Roster/Manifest is due a week before Race Day. Team Captains will receive the Online Roster Link after race registration is closed.
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Cancer Survivor teams are welcome! You would be racing in the general mixed division.
If there are at least 3 cancer survivor teams that sign up, we will also host a separate Cancer Survivors Specialty Race.
We hope to encourage cancer survivor teams to share their love of this wonderful team sport!
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■ Each team will get at least 3 races
■ Paddles and Life jackets will be available for racers to use. Please note that all racers must wear life jackets on the water at all times. Paddlers are allowed to bring their own paddles and lifejackets. Paddles must meet the IDBF 202a specifications. Paddlers bringing their own PFDs must ensure that it is a US-Coast Guard approved life jacket. Inflatable life jackets are NOT ALLOWED.
■ Entry fees are tax-deductible! We strive to keep team registration fees as low as possible. All team registration fees are tax-deductible donations (TAX ID #94-3308173).
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■ All prices are in USD dollars. Registration fees must be fully paid by each fee specific deadline to receive the applicable discount. Bay Area Dragon Boat Foundation may cancel registration if the race fees are not paid by the registration deadline or if the event has reached capacity prior to the deadline.
■ Bay Area Dragon Boat Foundation reserves the right to remove any discounts if the registration is not fully paid by the time the discount deadline is passed (a discounted registration entry that is not paid by the discount deadline may be adjusted to the non-discounted price).
■ Bay Area Dragon Boat Foundation reserve the right to review registrations for eligibility and modify registrations if a registrant does not meet the qualifications for the race or the registration rate. Registrants are responsible for any adjustment in registration price.
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After June 15, we will issue a full refund less a $150 administration fee if requested on or prior to July 15, 2025 if requested. After July 15, 2025, fees are non-refundable. Refunds requested in writing will be processed within 30 days of receipt of notification.
In the unlikely event of cancellation or postponement of this event due to circumstances beyond reasonable control of Bay Area Dragon Boat Foundation, the event may be cancelled with a minimum notice of 30 days. In such an unilkely event, each registered team will receive a full refund of their race registration fee only.
Please email race@bayareadragons.org with any questions
About
The Bay Area Dragons (BAD) founded “Paddle For Life”, a charity race that began in 2000, to introduce the dragon boat racing sport to the local community while giving back to local cancer charities. Paddle For Life ran successfully for 10 years until 2010, when it was subsequently moved to other states for expansion. In 2014, BAD revived the race in Foster City as a summer race festival for corporate teams in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Dragon Boat (BAD) Novice Race is a popular signature summer event in the community, with over 1000 paddlers joining the races! It is a wonderful opportunity for team building, to get outdoors and get active, and meet people from communities across the San Francisco Bay Area.
Starting in 2024, BAD added another Competitive Fall Sprints race event to give recreational and competitive teams an exciting Sprints Regatta event in the fall to finish the racing season. Having a Cash Prize has only upped the ante on getting your adrenaline rush!
FAQ
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Racer details including waiver links and race format, will be sent to registered team captains after registration is completed.
Thank you for your interest and support!
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SFO airport is the closest airport to the race venue in Foster City, about 15 minutes by car. Uber and Lyft are easily available if you are not renting a car. If you plan to do some sight seeing around Northern California during your visit, we recommend you rent a car for maximum flexibility. Uber and Lyft are easily available as well if you prefer not to drive, though rides can add up if you venture north to Wine Country or south to Monterey.
Public Transit (BART system) - BART from SFO or OAK can go to Millbrae, where one would then use CalTrain to get to the Hillsdale station. Then taxi to FC hotels.
Alternative option is to take Uber/Lyft from airport to Foster City.
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Free parking is available at the designated parking lots walking distance to Leo Ryan Park. Race site map will be provided after you register.
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Recommended Hotel information and available discounts will be provided to all registered teams after registration. Hotels will be walking distance to the race site.
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There are a lot of restaurants locally in Foster City. There will also be food trucks at the race site during the race weekend. UberEats and DoorDash options are available too.
CONTACT US
We are Bay Area Dragons. Feel free to contact us!
Race Organizer: race@bayareadragons.org
Payment: treasurer@bayareadragons.org