National Team News

18th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships - Hong Kong, China (2027)

The Auroras Program for the 2027 World Nations Championship in Hong Kong is a structured, high-performance pathway designed to develop and select athletes to represent Australia at the highest level of dragon boating. The program has been set as a performance-based program with progressive benchmarking and progress monitored over the duration of the campaign.

Athletes selected into the program will initially enter a National Squad environment, where training, testing and development will occur before final crew selection.

Following benchmarking:

• Athletes may be selected into the Performance Crew, who will represent Australia at the World Championships (Hong Kong)
• Athletes may be selected into the Emerging Crew, who remain part of the Auroras pathway and may be selected for alternative international competition

Both crews are part of the same system. Movement between crews is possible based on performance. Selection is not guaranteed at any stage and is dependent on meeting performance, behavioural and commitment standards throughout the campaign.

Additional Resources

Click here to download - Auroras Pathway and Performance Guide 

Click here to download - AusDBF National Performance Benchmarking Framework

Click here to download - Auroras Minimum Benchmarks

Click here to download - Aurora Benchmark standards

Click here to download - Auroras 2026-2027 campaign timeline

Click here to download - Auroras FAQ

Click here to download the Sweep and Drummers testing guide

Click here to download the Junior Benchmarking document v3

Click here to download - template for Club coach reference for Aurora EOI selections

Click here to download - Auroras self-assessment & coach validation form