National League and National Cup Dates for 2010

17th April (Saturday) - Royal Albert Dock, London
2nd May - Queens Dock, Liverpool

16th May - Trent Bridge, County Hall, Nottingham

13th June - Riversway, Preston

11th July - The Quay, Exeter
25th July - Caldecotte

22nd August - Worcester Race Course, Worcester (WR1 3EH for car park)

4th September (Saturday) - Victoria Dock, London
25th-26th September - NWSC, Nottingham (National Cup Final)

The BDA National League is a series of dragon boat racing events organised by the BDA over the summer season at venues throughout the UK.  Each event has a regatta format, with qualifying rounds, repecharges, minor and major finals to determine overall placings at the event. Races are typically held over a 200m and 500m distances.

All BDA Registered Crews are eligible to compete in the BDA National League. There are two divisions - Premier and Standard, plus an Under 18 Division. Points are won on placings at National League events to determine the position of the crews in the League at the end of the season.  16 points are awarded to the first placed crew at each event, 15 for second, and so on, in each league for each crew that has raced. A crew's placing at the end of the year is decided on the sum of the crew's best seven points results scored over the season. A count back system is in place to determine an overall winner where there is a draw based on the best seven results.

In addition to the races for Registered Crews, at most events there will also be opportunities for Scratch crews (who have not registered with BDA) and Charity crews (who raise money for charity through their dragon boat racing) to enter races in their own classes. There may also be events for Ladies (all female), Mixed (between eight and twelve females) and Junior (under 18). Contact the race organisers to find out details of the eligible classes at specific events.

The BDA National Cup is a two day event held at the end of the season. All the crews that have competed during the season are invited to take part. Races are typically over 200m, 500m, and 1000m distances. There are races for Open, Ladies, Mixed and Junior crews. A round of heats determines which crews qualify for the Cup competition, and which go into the Plate competition for runners-up.