Team GB

Great Britain has been involved in international dragon boat competition since the first World Championships in Yueyang, China in 1995. GB squads have competed at every European and World Championships since then.

The Great Britain dragon boat programme is overseen by the British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA) and delivered by volunteer coaches and management teams. It provides paddlers, drummers and helms with the opportunity to represent Great Britain at international championships.

International competition follows a two-year cycle, with European Championships held in even-numbered years and World Championships held in odd-numbered years.

GB runs multiple squads across a range of age categories and classifications. Each squad has its own coach, management team and training programme, while forming part of one overall Team GB programme.

If you are interested in GB, there are two main places to start:

GB programme

This page explains the full GB pathway, including BNTS, trials, selection, training expectations, costs and what international competition involves. It's a good place to start if you're new to GB or want a clearer understanding of how the process works from start to finish.

GB squads

This page lists the GB squads, including coaches, management teams, contact details and BNTS dates for the current campaign. It's the best place to go if you already know which squad you're interested in or are returning to GB.

Who’s who

Details of the current squad management teams are on the GB squads page.

Each GB squad is supported by the Team GB Manager, who works with squad management teams to coordinate entries, logistics and international representation, and to support consistency across the programme.

While the BDA sets the overall framework, each squad’s management has considerable autonomy to coach and lead their crews in the way they feel is best.

The current Team GB Manager is Christine Cosgrove.

Contact: gb.manager@thebda.org.uk