The Texas Dragon Boat Association is a 501(c)(3) Texas non-profit corporation.

Mission Statement
"To promote the tradition and sport of dragon boating, increase awareness of Asian and Asian-American culture, and enhance cross-cultural understanding."

Board Members:

Michael Jhin, Honorary Chair
Eugene Lee, Chairman
Mark Lee, Treasurer
John Cochran, Secretary
Caroline Quan Long, President
Michelle Shen-O'Brien, Executive Director
Liz Alhand
Thomas Au
Audrey Cheng-Trevino
Willilam Le Sage
George Levan
Pete Nardo
C. David Pomeroy
Bob Stokes

The Texas Dragon Boat Association has fulfilled its mission over the years by hosting dragon boating festivals during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, featuring local entertainers, food, and artisans.

The Houston Chinese American Lions Club held the first Houston Dragon Boat Festival in October 2001 with eight teams competing and the second Houston Dragon Boat Festival in May 2002 with twelve teams. In 2003, the Texas Dragon Boat Association incorporated as a Texas non-profit to promote the tradition and sport of dragon boating and to increase awareness of Asian and Asian-American culture and cross-cultural understanding.

Houston Dragon Boat Festival 2003 welcomed an estimated three thousand Houstonians, representing a myriad of cultural backgrounds, including twenty different Asian countries. The event featured eighteen teams, ten entertainers, celebrity emcees from the major television stations, food vendors, and participation by the Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, and Houston Texans. Each year since then we have had a successful Festival in May on the historical Buffalo Bayou. Our attendance has increased to over 5000 people and for our May 2006 Festival we will have 26 teams participating.
Due to the success of dragon boat racing in Houston, we added a second event in 2004 – the Gulf Coast International Dragon Boat Regatta held in October down in the Clear Lake area. The inaugural Regatta featured 41 teams competing over two days. Speakers included Honorary Co- Chairs Sylvia R. Garcia, County Commissioner Precinct Two, and astronaut Dr. Edward Lu; Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Texas Gregory Buchai; Mayor of Houston Bill White; Mayor of Pasadena John Manlove; State Representative Martha Wong; and Dr. Thomas Buchholz of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Teams arrived from as far away as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Ukraine. 

In 2005 we were awarded the honor of hosting the U.S. Central Region Championships in conjunction with our 2nd annual Gulf Coast International Dragon Boat Regatta presented by Wal-Mart.  Many competitive teams from Canada, the Midwest, and the West Coast arrived to win our event and represent the United States in the World International Dragon Boat Championships to be held in Toronto in summer 2006. Over 50 teams were able to compete including divisions for breast cancer survivors, youth teams, and municipalities.  Speakers included Honorary Co-Chairs Sylvia R. Garcia, County Commissioner Precinct Two, and Jim Reinhartsen, President, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership; Tiffani Mendivil of Wal-Mart; Hua Jinzhou, Consul General, People’s Republic of China; State Representative Martha Wong; Mary Connelly of Canadians Abreast; and Dr. Tse-Kuan Yu of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

In more recent news, the 6th Annual Houston Dragon Boat Festival met with great success on May 6, 2006.  Despite a rocky start due to an early morning storm, we were able to have our Honorary Co-Chairs Councilmember Carol Alvarado and the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Hua Jinzhou, come out to give opening remarks alongside Mayor Bill White.  Our entertainment acts, vendors, and food vendors catered to the crowd under a blue sky.  For safety reasons, we postponed the dragon boat races until the next day, May 7.  Over half of our teams were still able to come out and competition was fierce for the Dragon Boat Cup which was once again won by the Asia Society Young Professionals team. 

The Texas Dragon Boat Association acquired a fleet of eight boats in 2005, and plans are underway to build two boathouses (one in the East End on Buffalo Bayou and one in Bay Area Houston) in order to begin a year-round teambuilding program, youth boating education program, and breast cancer survivor program.

The Houston boathouse will be the first-ever boathouse along the downtown Bayou for non-motor boat craft, as well as serve as a home base for dragon boating in the Southern United States. We are excited to be able to be part of this great project which will help beautify Houston’s landscape and provide recreational activities for anyone who wants to get involved in paddling sports.

We are now accepting applications for team sponsorships for the 8th Annual Houston Dragon Boat Festival to be held on May 3, 2008 at Allen's Landing in Downtown Houston.