Frequently Asked Questions

tt-faq-iconBelow are questions which newbies and regulars often ask the more experienced members of Typhoon, if there are any questions and answers missing please send the question to info@typhoon-dbc.com and we will add this to the list.

 

  • Why the name Typhoon?

    The name Typhoon was given to the team back in 2003, at that time there was a lot of teams with the name 'Dragons' in them, to be different we wanted a powerful name to be feared whilst also taking into account that it was a water sport.

    So instead of picking a mythical creature we picked a natural occurring force of destruction and that being a 'Typhoon'. 

  • Why should I join Typhoon?

    Typhoon is a fun friendly social dragon boat club which has a lot to offer new members, there are loads of hobbies within the club, Badminton, Rollerblading, Gym, Snowboarding, Rock climbing, in fact any event that you can think of there's probably someone at the club that is already part of a club.

    Apart from training, we know how to have fun, we believe in work hard and play hard!!!

  • How often do Typhoon train and what times

    In the Winter we train once a week on the Saturday at 9:30am. In the Spring time we train three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

    As well as on the water training, we sometimes have group outdoors land training to work on muscle strength and indoor circuit training to build stamina.

  • How competitive is Typhoon?

    Since Dragon boating is an Amateur Sport, it may be considered as not competitive as other sports (this is true when going to Charity Races).

    We partake in the British Dragonboat Association (BDA) League which normally consists of 8-10 events a year, we aim to put a team forwards for each event when possible.

    As well as the BDA League, there are other worthy charity races where we allow our newbies to race such as in the Lions, Rotary and Bewl Waters events.

  • What do Typhoon do when they are not paddling?

    Typhoon Members enjoy other hobbies such as Badminton, Rollerblading, Gym, Snowboarding, Rockclimbing, Poker, in fact any event that you can think of there's probably someone at the club that is already part of a club.

  • What clothes should I bring to training?

    You can wear any type of clothing to paddle, as long as you are comfortable and also don't mind getting them wet. Waterproof Shoes or Sandals will protect your feet and gloves in the Winter must be worn as the water temperature is below zero degrees.

  • Would Dragonboating give me big arms?

    It is a common myth that people think that you will gain big arms when doing paddling, however this is not true as paddling is about using the bigger muscles like your back and legs by engaging the twist and kick of the stroke. You will never get 'big' arms unless you hit the gym on a regular basic, in fact it will actually help to tone up the arms and get rid of 'bingo' wings - imagine doing dumbbells with light weights of only 1kg for over a hour.

    Dragon Boating is an extreme sport that works on all the muscle groups - arms, shoulders, back, core and legs are all engaged when paddling. To help build up your strength paddlers can go to Body pump/Circuit classes, general free weight and cardio session for stamina training.

  • If I join the team do I have commit to go to every practice session and races?

    All paddlers have their own commitment and goals, we as a club understand that and put no pressure on paddlers to dedicate all their free time to the team.

    We can have up to two teams that cater for all paddling levels and depending on what your goals are we are happy to place you in whichever teams you feel best placed. We have a few paddlers in the team that doesn't attend any BDA races and just paddle to keep fit and enjoy the social side of things.

  • Is paddling experience required to join Typhoon?

    No paddling experience is required to join Typhoon, we will provide all the coaching that is necessary for the progression of a new paddler to the sport into an experienced BDA racing paddler.

    The rate of progression is down to the paddler as we provide the facilitates and training sessions as well as access to O1 canoes to improve on their techniques. We don't force people into doing more than they want to but however, if you are able to prove yourself, you can rise up the Typhoon ranks pretty quickly.

  • Is there a specific age requirement for Typhoon?

    The minimum age for Typhoon paddler is 10 years old without any maximum age as long as the person signs our waiver form and agrees that they do not see any issues with dragon boat training.

  • Do I need to know how to swim?

    Ideally you would know how to swim as least 50m, however swimming is something that most Typhoon members lack so its not so important as long as you are comfortable with paddling with a buoyancy aid.

    From our creation in 2003, Typhoon has never once capsized and we do not plan on doing so anytime soon. We have safety procedures to make sure each person is looked after in the event of an accident/capsize.

    We provide buoyancy aids for non-swimmers, in Winter and rough conditions, buoyancy aids MUST be worn.

  • Is this sport for girls too?

    Dragon boating is often viewed as a "big arms sport", which often deters girls. In actual fact the sport utilises the whole body, from the back to the waist to the legs.Girls tend to have better timing and technique, whereas guys tend to have more brute force. Rather than pure power, the important factor is the strength-to-weight ratio.In our club, there is roughly an equal split of girls and guys.

  • What type of social events does Typhoon host?

    Typhoon hosts a number of social events during the year, ranging from Bowling, Karaoke, Indoor Climbing, Rollerblading, Clubbing or the best party of the year, our End of Season parties. Anyone from Typhoon are free to arrange their own social events as long as no profit are gained as its more about team bonding.

  • What is the size of the team?

    Every year the team fluctuate in size and number, this year we already have over 30 full-time members.

  • How can I find out who drives to training so that I can share lifts?

    The best way to find out who drives to training is by talking to people who comes regular and chatting to them over dim sum to arrange some sort of car sharing system.

  • How do I sign up to Typhoon training?

    Once you have signed our electronic waiver form and have given us permission to add you to our training distribution list, we will then send information on how to join our next training session via a link to a google document.

  • How much is membership?

    Typhoon Membership prices varies from year to year, please see the membership page for latest pricing for the year.

    We provide the following membership options, full year (£155), 3 months newbies (£30), monthly (£12)  and PAYG (£7).

  • How can membership payment be made?

    Membership payments can be made directly into the Typhoon bank account.

    Account name:    Typhoon Dragon Boat Club
    Bank:                      HSBC
    Sort code:              40-02-31           
    Account no.:         01396897
    Reference:            Your name - membership

  • When I have paid membership can I just turn up to any training days?

    Once payment has been made and the finance team has verified payment via a confirmation email, you will be sent a link to our membership pack with details on how to log on. You are now able to attend unlimited training session up to the membership payment period.

  • Do you do any races outside of the UK?

    We have done a few international races in the last two years, Venice Vogalonga (2008) and Hong Kong Stanley Cup (2009)We are looking to add to our international experience this year and hope to participate in races in either New York or Vancouver.

  • When do we attach the dragon head, tail and drums onto the boat?

    We normally dress the boat with the dragon head, tail and drum for races. At training it is not necessary as it takes time to dress the boat.

  • Where can you purchase the typhoon member paddling clothes and hoody?

    Typhoon has a number of branded clothes such as hoodies, wind jacket, t-shirt, vest and racing top. These can be seen on our merchandising page, if you wish to place an order for one of these items you would need to be an typhoon member. We normally advertise new branded kit to the team and once a certain number of orders has been met then we will place the order.

  • Where can I buy a carbon fibre paddle?

    There are three types of paddle that can be used in Dragon boating, plastics, wooden and carbon fibre. Most of the experienced members of Typhoon have their own paddle, majority of them are trivium, but there are a few ZRE and Merlin paddles that are used. If you want to purchase one they cost around £135-£175 or email info@typhoon-dbc.com to check if there are any second hand paddles for sale.

    We have a 10% discount code for Stylosports and for Trivium paddles there is a 8-12 weeks lead time for the paddle to be made and transported to the UK./p>

    Trivium | Zre & Merlin

  • Where can I buy a padded bum seat?

    You can buy a padded bum seat from one of the following suppliers

  • Do you have to sign up for competitions and how much do these cost?

    Once you are part of the training distribution list (signed our waiver form) you will be informed about our upcoming competition events when they're about to happen.

    The charge for racing costs £13 a paddler to help cover the team's entrance fees.

  • How do Typhoon pick the team for races?

    We always aim to enter as least one boat into a race, the captain and coaches have to make the hard decision of who would be racing. They will take into consideration the paddlers training attendance, technique and power to weight ratio to have a competitive team at BDA events.

  • How often do you need to train before you can compete in races?

    Depending on whether you want to train for the first team or second team, team selection is based on if we have a full team or if we want to enter two teams. Ideally we want you to be prepared for these events as they are very competitive against the top teams in the country so training on and off the boat is required for the first team members. However sometime we would bring out a second team just for racing experience without any high expectations so not much training is needed for the second team paddlers.

  • How often does Typhoon get involved in charity events?

    We try to raise money for charity when we attempt to do a challenging event. We have raised over £13,000 for Charity by doing the following events: Great River Race and the Venice Vogalonga. Read More
  • 1