For participating teams
Welcome to the Participating Teams portal!
This is your 1-stop shop for all things a Team Captain will need to register and prepare their team for the Kentucky Dragon Boat Festival experience.1. Registration
Everything starts with the Team Registration. Don't worry if you aren't with a team, we have an Individual Athlete Registration and festival organizers will work to place individual athletes with a team that needs additional paddlers.
2. Waivers
Once registration has been completed, the next step is getting each paddler to complete the online waiver. Teams Captains MUST direct their paddlers to this site and click the button below to access the online waiver.
3. FREE Team Practice
Next, schedule your FREE Team Practice. This will help your team make the most of your festival experience by preparing your team for the races. A calendar is available to see the scheduled practices. Team Practice slots will be available on the following days:
- Saturday Morning, August 23, 2025
- Tuesday Evening, August 26, 2025
- Thursday Evening, August 28, 2025
- Tuesday Evening, September 2, 2025
- Thursday Evening, September 4, 2025
- Friday Evening, September 5, 2025 -- Out Of Town Teams Only
4. Fundraising
Finally, fundraise. The money raised by teams supports the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts Mission by supporting Cancer Patients in the Tri-State Region.
More to know
Come back to this page anytime and checkout what other teams have registered or catch-up on the emailed Captains Bulletins.
Still have questions? Checkout the linked Festival Fact Sheet!
What it’s like to participate
In the distance, 3-5 dragon boats line up at the start. A horn blows. As you look out over the lake at the dragon boats racing across the water, you hear the drums beating out of sync with each other. Watch more closely, and you will see that each drummer is setting the cadence for 16-20 paddlers. Following the teams off the water to their tents reveals a touching tapestry of stories and support. Each tent houses a team with a unique background and motivation. One tent is filled with family and friends supporting someone undergoing cancer treatment. Another team in the next tent returns year after year in memory of a loved one who succumbed to cancer. The Paddlers’ Village brims with breast cancer survivor teams from as far away as Canada and Florida. There are corporations using the festival as a team-building experience. Churches and hospitals from around the region send their teams, all united by a common cause.The 30-40 teams in the Paddlers' Village gather to support the mission of Paddling for Cancer Awareness, Inc., the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts “Surviving in Sync” non-profit organization. Each stroke of the paddle, each cheer, and each beat of the drum signifies a collective resilience and an unwavering commitment to the fight against cancer.
That’s just a glimpse of what it’s like to participate in the Kentucky Dragon Boat Festival, click the link to read the full article written by Jim Thaxton, Founder of the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts Dragon Boat Racing Team.