Dragon Boat Indoor Cup Berlin

Indoor Dragon Boats – A Berlin Winter Sport Format

Dragon boat racing is traditionally a summer water sport in Germany: long boats, 20 paddlers, a drummer at the bow, racing on lakes or river sections. What the Berliner Bäder-Betriebe organises in the Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark (SSE) is different: 50-meter boats in a 50-meter swimming pool, four boats side-by-side, indoor conditions, competitions in January. It's a unique Berlin format – and one of the largest indoor dragon boat competitions worldwide.

Fun Cup and Nations Cup

The competition is divided into two parts. In the Fun Cup, Berlin hobby teams compete against each other – company teams, club teams, occasionally mixed crews. In the Nations Cup, national teams from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Slovakia compete. In 2025, 34 teams were registered, competing in five groups of seven teams each. This makes the event the most densely packed indoor dragon boat day in Central Europe.

The Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europasportpark

The venue is the SSE in Paul-Heyse-Straße in the Prenzlauer Berg district (Pankow borough) – one of Berlin's most spectacular swimming halls, opened in 2002 as a multi-purpose venue for the World Athletics Championships. The hall regularly hosts competitions (German Swimming Championships, diving, synchronised swimming) and, with its 50-meter pool and grandstand, offers precisely the infrastructure needed for an indoor dragon boat cup.

Free Admission for Spectators

Admission is free for spectators. Anyone who wants to see what it looks like – the boats are launched right in front of the audience in the stands, four crews paddle in parallel, water splashes into the first rows – can do so without prior registration. The date for 2026 will generally be announced by Berliner Bäder-Betriebe in the autumn of the previous year; in 2025, the cup took place on Saturday, January 25th. A date in January is expected for 2026.