The IDBF, a Member of the General Association of International Sports Federations ( GAISF ) recognises two types of Dragon Boat Racing activities, namely Sport racing, as practised by IDBF member organisations ; and Festival racing, which are the more traditional and informal types of races, organised around the world, where racing rules vary from event to event.

Apart from the key events listed here, information regarding many of the individual racing events held throughout the USA can be accessed via the United States Dragon Boat Federation ( USDBF ), the American member of the International Dragon Boat Federation IDBF.

At the 2008 Sport Accord congress convened in Beijing, the majority of the membership ( that is, the federations of other world sports, some of which are also members of the International Olympic Committee IOC ) voted to ratify the decision of the executive committee in recognising the IDBF as representing a paddle sport which is separate from other paddle sports such as kayaking, canoeing and outrigger canoeing.

The IDBF being elected into membership of the GAISF by the majority of the world's sport federations already in membership of the GAISF paves the way for the IDBF to seek membership in the IOC separate from the world federation for canoe racing.

In the year 278 B. C., upon learning of the upcoming devastation of his state from invasion by a neighbouring Warring State ( Qin in particular ), Qu is said to have waded into the Miluo river which drains into Dongting Hu ( lake ) in today's Hunan Province — near the provincial capital city of Changsha and south of the city of Yueyang on Donting Hu, site of the first IDBF World Dragon Boat Championship in 1996 — holding a great rock in order to commit ritual suicide as a form of protest against the corruption of the era.

Both the Asian Dragon Boat Federeation ( ADBF ) and European Dragon Boat Federation ( EDBF ) also hold National Team Championships on alternate years to the IDBF National Championships and the EDBF have held Club Crew Championships since 1992.

Some National Olympic Committees ( NOC ) have already accepted Dragon boat national organisation for national membership and the Olympic Council of Asia recognises the Asian Dragon Boat Federation ( ADBF ) as the IDBF Continental Federation with responsibility for Dragon Boat Sport in Asia.

Mason Hung of the HKTA and an IDBF Senior Vice President ( 2008 ) traveled to Vancouver in 1985 to advise the CCC race committee on organizing the inaugural competition, as he had been instrumental in developing the HK International DB Races ( IDBR ) throughout the 1980s.

Canada has been successful in winning the highest honour possible in the sport several times, the biennially challenged IDBF Nation's Cup, which is awarded to the country that earns the highest medal count total at world championship regattas.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hosted the IDBF World Championships in 2001 and since then has established an annual festival, with over 150 teams now participating.

The established International Federations for dragon boat sport are the International Dragon Boat Federation ( IDBF ) and its Continental Federations, the European Dragon Boat Federation ( EDBF ) and the Asian Dragon Boat Federation ( ADBF ).

Today, dragon boat racing ( sport and festival ) is among the fastest growing of team water sports, with scores of thousands of participants in various organisations and clubs in over 60 countries – 62 of which are IDBF members ( as of 8 Jan 2009 ).

In 2006, the executive committee of the Sport Accord, formerly known as the General Association of International Sport Federations GAISF, accepted the application of the International Dragon Boat Federation IDBF as the sole world sporting federation which organises and recognises the majority of the world's dragon boat crews, now from more than 70 countries, and that convenes the world championships for this paddling sport.

The IDBF has organised World Nations Dragon Boat Racing Championships ( WDBRC ) for Representative National or Territorial teams every two years since 1995.

Over the past 30 years since 1976, and especially since the formation of the IDBF and its Continental Federations for Asia and Europe in the early 1990s, dragon boating as a sport with regularised rules and equipment has rapidly spread beyond Asia to Europe, North and South America, Australia and Africa, becoming a popular international sport for a growing global base of participants.

In between the National Championship years, IDBF organises Club Crew World Championships ( CCWC ) for the world's top club-based crews.

In 2005 the IDBF introduced a Corporate and Community World Championships ( WCorcom ) designed for crews that normally race in Festival Races and aimed at the ' weekend warrior ' type of competitor and not the elite International standard or serious Club Crew competitors.

In 2006 under the patronage of the IDBF, the 1st World Championships for Breast Cancer Survivors-the ' Pink Paddlers ' - were held in Singapore.

In 1996 the first IDBF Club Crew World Championships was convened in Vancouver on the 10th anniversary of the introduction of dragon boat racing to Canada.

Ten years later in 2006, Toronto hosted the 5th IDBF Club Crew World Championships on the 20th anniversary year of dragonboating in Canada.

European competition is just as varied with many national bodies aligned to the European Federation ( EDBF ) and IDBF, running competitions attended by many crews during the summer season.

The IDBF is the recognised World Governing Body of Dragon Boat Sport and a Member of the GAISF ( the General Association of International Sports Federations ) which is part of the Olympic Movement.

Indeed, at the time when the IDBF was being founded in the late 1980s, the then-president of the ICF Sergio Orsi wished the federation organisers well in developing dragon boat racing as a separate entity.

The IDBF, whilst a Member of the GAISF, is not presently an Olympic Federation of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) but will be applying for this status when it has the 75 Member Countries or Territories that meet the criteria needed for IOC recognition and inclusion in an Olympic Games.

Modern dragon boat racing is organised at an international level by the International Dragon Boat Federation ( IDBF ).

Therefore the IDBF classifies ICF Dragon Boating as ' Closed Competition '.

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