Ed Curley, a veteran marathon canoe racer from Sidney, New York, paddled with the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association’s 50+ (Senior B) crews at the 15th IDBF Club Crew World Championships. The event ran August 29–September 6, 2026, at Liyu Lake in Hualien, Taiwan.
PDBA’s senior crews had a dominant week. Across mixed, women’s, and open boats in both 10-person (small) and 20-person (standard) formats, and over the 200 m, 500 m, and 2,000 m distances, the Philly 50+ and older squads collected a large medal haul that included the 12 golds. Confirmed golds include the Senior B mixed standard-boat races at all three distances and several Senior C titles (women’s small-boat 200 m and 2,000 m, mixed and open standard-boat 2,000 m, and others). They also took multiple silvers.
For Curley this was a shift from the long, individual or tandem river races he is known for (dozens of General Clinton 70-milers, race organizing, Hall of Fame induction) into a tightly synchronized team sprint sport. Dragon boat racing demands short, high-cadence strokes locked to a drummer, with 10 or 20 paddlers moving as one unit. Joining an established, high-performance Philly club that has been winning internationally for decades gave him a strong crew and coaching structure (PDBA is long associated with Hall of Fame coach Bob McNamara).
The week itself mixed intense racing with the usual Worlds atmosphere: heat and rain on the lake, tight margins measured in tenths of a second, and the satisfaction of a veteran endurance paddler contributing to a club that swept much of its age-group program. The result was one of the stronger U.S. senior showings at a Club Crew Worlds in recent cycles.
