Boat racing

Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt,[1] and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.

Types

There are three broad categories of boat racing which define how the watercraft are powered. Self-propelled, human powered boats; wind (sail) powered boats; and motorised, frequently referred to as motorboats or powerboats.

Human-powered boat racing

  • Dragon boat racing – a type of human-powered watercraft racing, originating from oriental Asia
  • Rowing (sport) – a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers or lakes, or on the ocean in special types of ocean-going rowing boats
  • Canoe racing – competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking
    • Kayak racing
    • Outrigger canoe racing

Sail-powered boat racing

Motorboat racing

A boat race seen from the International Space Station, 2006

Race format types

  • Kyōteiparimutuel boat racing in Japan, referred to as "BOAT RACE"
  • Match race – a race between two competitors, going head-to-head

Notable boat races

Human-powered

Wind-powered


Motor-powered

  • 24 Heures Motonautiques de Rouen – a 24-hour circuit boat race in Rouen, France
  • Archer eade memorial – an unlimited outboard race consisting of six laps

See also

References

  1. Evžen Strouhal, Life of the ancient Egyptians (1992), p. 46.
  2. World Professional Powerboating Association Archived May 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, UIM

Media related to Boat racing at Wikimedia Commons

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