{"id":4366,"date":"2026-05-22T07:57:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dragonboat.sport\/?p=4366"},"modified":"2026-05-24T12:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:45:21","slug":"paddles-ready-x-idbf-we-are-a-sport-a-conversation-with-president-claudio-schermi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dragonboat.sport\/news\/paddles-ready-x-idbf-we-are-a-sport-a-conversation-with-president-claudio-schermi\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddles Ready x IDBF: &#8216;We Are a Sport&#8217; &#8211; A Conversation with President Claudio Schermi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Paddles Ready x IDBF: &#8216;We Are a Sport&#8217; &#8211; A Conversation with President Claudio Schermi<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As the IDBF begins its next chapter with the establishment of our new Headquarters in Hong Kong, President Claudio Schermi recently joined Paddles Ready for a wide\u2011ranging conversation on the future of dragon boating and the federation\u2019s global direction. Recorded in Macau, China the discussion explores the sport\u2019s rapid growth, the importance of strengthening dragon boating\u2019s international identity, and the strategic steps ahead as we work toward greater global and Olympic recognition. This episode offers a clear, candid look at where the sport stands today \u2014 and what must evolve for it to reach the next level.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XpgyGpUL4to?si=hBrj1q5nrXgwlNwy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>About the IDBF<br \/>\n<\/strong>The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) is the global governing body for dragon boat racing. Founded in 1991 in Hong Kong, it oversees and promotes the sport of dragon boat paddling across the world. With a mission to foster unity, friendship, and fair competition, the IDBF organises multiple international world championships, sets rules and standards for dragon boat racing and equipment, and has a membership base of over 80 national federations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paddles Ready x IDBF: &#8216;We Are a Sport&#8217; &#8211; A Conversation with President Claudio Schermi As the IDBF begins its next chapter with the establishment of our new Headquarters in Hong Kong, President Claudio Schermi recently joined Paddles Ready for a wide\u2011ranging conversation on the future of dragon boating and the federation\u2019s global direction. Recorded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[62,94,93,89],"class_list":["post-4366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ccwc2026","tag-interviews","tag-podcast","tag-sports-development"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Paddles Ready x IDBF: &#039;We Are a Sport&#039; - A Conversation with President Claudio Schermi - International Dragon Boat Federation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paddles Ready interviews IDBF President Claudio Schermi on the sport\u2019s growth, new Hong Kong headquarters, and the path toward stronger global and Olympic recognition.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonboat.sport\/news\/paddles-ready-x-idbf-we-are-a-sport-a-conversation-with-president-claudio-schermi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paddles Ready x IDBF: &#039;We Are a Sport&#039; 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