Dragon Boat Festival 2024

The Dragons are returning to Manchester!

A dragon boat team has a maximum of 16 paddlers and 1 drummer per race (the drummer will keep the whole team in sync by drumming along to the team’s rowing).

Your team will race in genuine Chinese Dragon Boats in a festival like no other! Throughout the festival, your team will race in three 200m qualifying heats. If your fastest time makes the cut, you may find yourself racing in the grand final!

Invite friends and family along to cheer you on! There will be plenty of fun activities to get involved in on the day and with such a fantastic and lively atmosphere, it’s sure to be a fun day out for all involved.

No prior experience is necessary, and training is provided on the day. Rowers must be aged 16 or over and drummers must be 12 or over.

You can register your team via the ‘Sign up now’ button.

Support our hospitals

We’re excited to be one of the Charity Partners for this event. The funds your team raise will support the 2million patients who visit our family of NHS hospitals each and every year.

How to get involved

One lead booker registers their entire team for the event and pays the initial entry fee. Once you’re signed up, we ask that you commit to fundraising a further £1,400 as a team. As always, we will be on hand to give you support and tips to make the most of your fundraising prior to the event.

If you have any questions please contact the Events team on charity.events@mft.nhs.uk or call 0161 276 4522 and ask to speak to a member of the team.