Dragon boat racers take to Vancouver Lake for world qualifier

World champion dragon boat racers will be among those on Vancouver Lake on Saturday and Sunday competing for spots in the 2016 International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships.

As of Monday, 58 crews had registered for the Pacific Dragon Boat Association Championships, which are being held at Vancouver Lake for the first time.

Spectators can watch the races from Vancouver Lake Park.

In addition to races in multiple divisions for spots at the world championships, there will be recreational and corporate races for West Coast championships. About half of the races will be in divisions competing for world championship berths. The 2016 world championships will be held in Adelaide, Australia.

Saturday’s races will be 250 meters long, which the fastest crews will complete in less than a minute. On Saturday, races are scheduled every five minutes beginning at 8:55 a.m. and running until at least 4 p.m.

Sunday’s races will be 500 meters. The first Sunday race is scheduled for 8:25 a.m., with races happening every 5 to 10 minutes until about 4 p.m.

Two teams from Vancouver’s club Catch-22 are entered, including a women’s crew that might qualify for the world championships according Catch-22 coach Jeff Campbell. Campbell, owner of Vancouver-based Double Fifth Dragon Boating, is also the race director for the regionals. A total of 22 crews from the Portland area are entered.