Who We Are
Beginning – Oyster Point Dragons (OPD) saw its humble beginning in 2012 as it morphed out of the Ocean Dragon Diehards, a team organized to compete in the 2012 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Incorporation – OPD was subsequently incorporated in February 2013 under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes, and is a tax exempt organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3) and California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 23701d.
Purpose – The purpose of this organization is to foster national and international amateur sports competition, and in particular, dragon boating. OPD is an all-volunteer organization consisting of a 5-member Board and four Committees: Coaching and Safety, Maintenance, Finance, and Events. OPD makes a difference by providing paddlers with multiple supportive relationships with peers and by offering challenging physical activities and health initiatives in a positive and family-friendly environment. Read more >
Base – OPD is the first dragon boat team ever to be based out of Oyster Point Marina; off Gate Number 7 at 95 Harbor Master Road in South San Francisco across from the Oyster Point Yacht Club and adjacent to the South City Ferry Terminal. The team currently has two BuK dragon boats acquired in May 2022. These two BuK boats replaced the Kahlua boats acquired back in 2013. OPD’s practice site covers areas alongside Highway 101 towards Candlestick Point or towards San Francisco Airport’s boundary. The team also owns three outrigger-canoes (OC) – a yellow Connection Stingray OC1; a white Pegasus Kai Wa’a OC1; and a blue Tempest OC2. OPD stopped offering the use of kayaks in 2024.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission – Oyster Point Dragons’ mission is to promote the sport of dragon boating in a fun and safe environment while fostering team spirit and friendship.
Vision – Its vision is to expand and promote the sport of dragon boating as a health promotion program, an approach to leadership development, and a team building technique for schools, corporations, and communities in South San Francisco and the Bay Area in general.
Values and Principles – Its mission and vision are guided and guarded by the fundamental values and principles of Unity, Fairness, Integrity, Compassion, Respect, Training, and Transparency within a positive and supportive environment.
Teams – Besides its adult teams, OPD has a student team, which was formed in 2016 when OPD launched its Student Program. This program successfully brought together a group of middle school students, primarily from San Francisco’s Aptos Middle School and South San Francisco’s Westborough Middle School. The student team, Tiger Sharks, competes each year at the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival. They also travel internationally for other races. In July 2018, the student team competed in the 11th International Dragon Boat Federation’s (IDBF) Club Crew World Championships in Szeged, Hungary. OPD also has a high school team consisting primarily of students from Mills High School.
Affiliation – OPD is a member of the Pacific Dragon Boat Association under this current structure:
History and Sport of Dragon Boating – According to Chinese legends, scholar and poet Qu Yuan, drowned himself in the Miluo River in the Southern Chinese provinces as a result of corruption and uprising during the State of Chu period …
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For International races’ team photos, see our Other Health Programs page.
