From Lake Merced to the World Stage: CYC Dragon Boat Competes in Taiwan
For CYC Dragon Boat, years of practice at Lake Merced led to a new challenge this September: competing against youth teams from around the world at the 15th International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) Club Crew World Championships in Hualien, Taiwan.
From September 1–6, CYC youth joined thousands of dragon boat athletes at Liyu Lake, representing CYC, San Francisco, and the United States. Across six days of competition, the team raced in nine under 18 (U18) events across mixed, open, and women’s divisions at 200-meter, 500-meter, and 2,000-meter distances.
The trip added another chapter to CYC Dragon Boat’s experience beyond San Francisco. In recent years, CYC youth have competed in Vancouver, paddlers have represented Team USA at the World Dragon Boat Championships in Germany, and youth have participated in a cultural exchange in China. In Hualien, CYC competed under its own name at a world championship, bringing a community-based youth program from San Francisco into one of the sport’s largest competitions.
Getting to Hualien started long before the team boarded a plane.
The team first learned about the opportunity to compete in Taiwan in July 2025. After finishing among the top three youth teams in North America, CYC ultimately decided to take part in its first IDBF Club Crew World Championship, with 18 youth traveling to Taiwan. From that point through the first day of competition, the team continued practicing and conditioning for the demands of nine races over six days.
CYC Dragon Boat welcomes young people with different levels of experience, including youth who may have never paddled before joining the program. Training together helps them develop their skills while learning how to move as one crew. Preparing for the world championship gave youth the chance to test that training in an entirely new competitive environment.
Isabella, a paddler of two years, recalled the anticipation leading up to the championship.
“I was excited to compete in Taiwan, but I was also nervous because it was my first time racing at something this big. We had been training for so long, so getting to finally go there and race with everyone felt really special. It made me proud to be part of the team.”
At Liyu Lake, the familiar rhythm of practices at Lake Merced took on a different scale. Teams had traveled from around the world to compete, giving CYC youth a firsthand look at the reach of a sport they had spent years practicing at home.
“When we got to Taiwan and saw teams from all these different countries, it really showed me how much bigger dragon boat is outside of San Francisco,” reflected Rex, the team’s captain. “There were so many people who had traveled to be there, and it was cool knowing that we were part of that too and representing CYC.”
Away from the race course, youth experienced another side of Taiwan through a visit to Tzu Chi High School and time exploring Taipei. Meeting local students and visiting places such as the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall gave the team a chance to experience the country beyond the championship.
For Rex, visiting Tzu Chi High School became one of the highlights of the trip, where he and his teammates spent time with students and learned more about their culture and daily school life.
“Visiting the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was one of my favorite parts of sightseeing in Taipei,” Isabella reflected. “It was really cool getting to see a new place with my teammates, and having that time together outside of racing made the trip even more special.”
Then came one of the team’s biggest moments of the championship.
In the U18 Open Small Boat 200-meter race, CYC finished third with a cumulative time of 2:49.08, earning a bronze medal in a field that included teams from the United States and Hong Kong.
The result also received local recognition. Hualien News named “USA CYC Dragon Boat” in its coverage of the race and reported CYC’s third-place finish.
Before the race, Rex remembered feeling “nervous but also excited.” He focused on staying calm, trusting his training, and not overthinking the moment.
“What I remember most is pushing hard through the finish and seeing that we had won bronze,” he said. “It felt good to know that our hard work paid off.”
The bronze marked the first IDBF Club Crew World Championship medal for CYC Dragon Boat, during the team’s first appearance at the event.
The medal was one result across a demanding six days of racing. The U18 Mixed Standard Boat finished fourth in all three distances, while the U18 Open Small Boat finished fourth in the 500-meter and 2,000-meter races. The U18 Women Small Boat competed in all three distances, finishing seventh in each.
Nine races also meant the team experienced races that went as planned and others that did not. Each time they returned to the water, they had another starting line ahead of them and another race to paddle together.
For coaches who had watched the team prepare back at Lake Merced, the championship offered a chance to see how youth responded when the stakes and surroundings changed.
“We knew we were up against some of the best teams in the world, and it was discouraging at times knowing how much preparation those teams had,” reflected Zachary Louie, Program Specialist. “Even when the races were tiring and conditions were challenging, our team never backed down. We kept fighting together until the very end, and our teamwork and effort were rewarded with a bronze medal.”
By the end of the championship, CYC youth had spent six days racing at Liyu Lake alongside crews that had traveled to Hualien from around the world. The experience gave them a chance to see their sport at a different scale while representing the program and community where their own paddling began.
For Henry Ha, CYC Program Director, the experience reflected what CYC Dragon Boat can offer young people as they develop as paddlers and teammates.
“More than anything, I hope our youth come away from this experience with a stronger sense of what they can accomplish through hard work and teamwork,” Henry reflected. “They had the opportunity to compete internationally and experience something new together. That’s what we hope to create through CYC Dragon Boat, giving young people the chance to challenge themselves and grow through experiences like this.”
The bronze medal will be part of what the team remembers from Taiwan. So will lining up at Liyu Lake and seeing CYC’s name alongside teams that had traveled there from around the world.
Back in San Francisco, the team returns to where this journey began: Lake Merced.
Experiences like this start with the programs young people can access here at home. Make a gift today to help CYC youth continue learning, competing, and representing San Francisco wherever their next opportunity takes them.