Nathan Benderson Park Chosen to be Host for 2022 World Championship Event

When the International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships makes its debut in the United States in 2022, it will be at Sarasota County’s Nathan Benderson Park.
 
The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) held its world congress in late August, during its World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. During the meetings, the Sarasota 2022 bid was presented by representatives of the U.S. Dragon Boat Federation, Visit Sarasota County and Nathan Benderson Park’s manager, Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates (SANCA).
 
Along with the 2022 championship event, NBP will play host to the 2021 U.S. Dragon Boat Federation (USDBF) National Championships.
 
“NBP continues to prove to be a successful sport attraction that impacts not only our community, but Florida and the United States,” SANCA President and CEO Stephen V. Rodriguez said.
 
The Sarasota event will be the 13th club crew world championships. The 12th will be in Aix-les-Bains, France, in 2020, and the 2018 club crews was in Szeged, Hungary. More than 6,200 athletes were at the Hungary championships.
 
The IDBF Club Crew World Championships includes representative clubs from around the world. From four regions of the United States, clubs will send winning crews to the world event. Unlike the World Championships, where athletes are selected for the national teams from multiple clubs across the nation, entire winning crews are entered for the club crew regatta. The world championships are also held biennially, in alternate years from the club crew worlds.
 
“Hosting this world championship has an impact that goes beyond just economic benefit,” Rodriguez said. “This will impact the sport of dragon boat racing in our state and nationwide. We are prepared to invest more resources into our local dragon boat programming to prepare for this event. We thank IDBF for their confidence in awarding this event to Sarasota County.”
 
Mike Thomas, the IDBF’s president, said “members of the International Dragon Boat Federation are all looking forward to racing in Nathan Benderson Park, with its superb facilities.”
 
In the 2020 regatta in France, NBP Survivors In Sync will send its winning crew from the Sarasota International Dragon Boat Festival, which was held at Nathan Benderson Park in May.
  
“Teams are going to come from around the world,” said Beth Turconi, a Team USA dragon boat paddler who won two bronze medals during the World Championships, and who’s a member of the NBP Dragons team. “And I’ll tell you, there is no water anywhere in the world that rivals the water I get to paddle on every single day.”
 
Andrew Szymanski, the USDBF’s president, said the national federation is “thrilled” to host the world’s best teams in Sarasota.
 
“This world-class venue and its facilities are ideally suited for these championships, and we are confident Nathan Benderson Park will exceed expectations in every category,” he said. “We are excited to begin the next phase of planning for this incredible event.”
 
“Thrilled” is also a word Visit Sarasota County Sports Director Shelby Connett used.
 
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected,” she said. “This selection was a huge win for Sarasota County.”
 
Connett said Visit Sarasota County aims to welcome the thousands of athletes and fans in a big way.
 
“In addition to offering amazing racing conditions through Nathan Benderson Park’s superb course, we look forward to providing competitors with a destination-wide event experience by engaging the local community in a variety of ways,” she said.
 
Rodriguez, Connett, Turconi and SANCA’s director of operations, Bob Whitford, presented the Sarasota bid to the world federation in its Thailand meetings.

“Sarasota County is very excited that Nathan Benderson Park has been selected to host another world championship,” said Nicole Rissler, the director of Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources. “This demonstrates Sarasota County’s dedication to providing a world-class park experience for our residents and visitors, and its commitment to sports tourism.”