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The Berkeley Racing Canoe Center was formed in January 2004 for the purpose of promoting international dragon boat competition and providing water access and educational opportunities to the Berkeley and East Bay communities. Located at M-dock in the Berkeley Marina, BRCC owns three "six-sixteen" dragon boats, one OC-1 single-person outrigger canoe, two kayaks and one time trial canoe. All boats are available for use by qualified members at no charge beyond the annual membership fee. Dragon boats are close replicas of ancient Chinese river commerce boats. Three of BRCC's boats are 48 ft long (not counting the ornamental head and tail), with seats for up to 24 paddlers plus a drummer and a steersperson. BRCC also operates a 20-paddler "Champion" model dragon boat, similar to the international competition standard, and one 10-paddler half-size boat. BRCC hosts the DragonMax dragon boat team. The founding members of DragonMax come from DieselFish and from the Berkeley Dragons. DragonMax began as a CDBA team, but became independent with the purchase of the two dragon boats. One of the benefits of independence is local control of operating rules, and this allows BRCC to relax CDBA's strict age limits for participation. BRCC is friendly and accommodating to families and to supervised young children. In addition to the DragonMax team, BRCC hosts the East Bay "Rough Riders" High School dragon boat team and occasional corporate teams represeting AT&T and Bayer. Efforts are underway to form a Berkeley High School team for the 2018 season. Guests, passengers and team prospects are welcome at almost all practice sessions. No experience is necessary, and BRCC supplies lifejackets and paddles. See the membership page and the practice schedule for more details.
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