Dragon Boat

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Morwenna
Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
edited August 2021 in Working on Your Fitness

Next week, I'm doing this!

http://www.theflorentine.net/news/2018/06/dragon-b...

Dragon Boat racing has been about the best thing to happen as a result of my breast cancer diagnosis!

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  • Snickersmom
    Snickersmom Member Posts: 926
    edited June 2018

    I wanted to do that so badly but I have had herniated disks in my lower back over the past 10 years and I don't think I can row. I hope you have fun!! I have several friends on a survivor boat and they love it!

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  • ktab96
    ktab96 Member Posts: 126
    edited September 2018

    Morwenna - I was there! What team are you part of? I am a member of team located in Florida, USA. The Italy festival was a fantastic event. I met fellow breast cancer survivors from around the world. Many are still battling the disease. There is a woman on my team who has lymphedema who says dragon boating helps her a lot. We also have a couple who are on continuous treatment. It is a wonderful sisterhood of support. How did you like the life guard dogs? Didi you know its the largest woman's sporting event in the world?


    image



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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited September 2018

    I was there with Sistership from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

    Wasn't it a fantastic experience. My first International.

    The lifeguard dogs kind of passed me by. Did they do some form of exhibition? I only saw them being hosed down to cool them off in the heat one day! 😊

    Usually I'd say my lymphedema is not really affected by paddling and I'm lazy about donning my garments but after the last festival of the summer this year I'm definitely a little more puffy so I'm trying to be good and wear my sleeve on a more regular basis.


    I work at a lymphedema clinic so I've also been kind of shamed into it! 🤣

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  • ktab96
    ktab96 Member Posts: 126
    edited September 2018

    Yes, there was quite a demonstration of how they utilize dogs in water rescues.

    image

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  • ktab96
    ktab96 Member Posts: 126
    edited September 2018

    image

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited October 2018

    Oh that's very cool. I don't know where I was when all that was going on! 😃

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited October 2018

    Oh that's very cool. I don't know where I was when all that was going on! 😃

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  • Chemokaze
    Chemokaze Member Posts: 208
    edited October 2018

    I want to do this! This is my goal - just do it. We have a local dragon boat team that practices twice a week and they welcome newbies....I have no excuse

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  • ktab96
    ktab96 Member Posts: 126
    edited October 2018

    Definitely join Chemokaze. It has been the most amazing experience. I have met and became friends with so many wonderful people.

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  • Chemokaze
    Chemokaze Member Posts: 208
    edited August 2019

    ktab96 - A brand new dragon boat team for breast cancer survivors just started in my city and I joined straight away and I just love it!!!

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  • Rah2464
    Rah2464 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited August 2019

    I am so glad you posted this! I am participating in a dragon boat race in Kentucky in September! So excited to do this the first time. I am the captain of the boat, and my team is mostly members of a gentle yoga group that meets at a local hospital. So we have BC survivors, Ovarian cancer survivors, Colon cancer survivors, you name it. Some of my ladies are still in active chemotherapy treatment but they are all in. Looks to be a blast.

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited November 2019

    Sorry, I haven't been on this site for about a year!

    Excited to learn that the next International Breast Cancer Survivors Dragon Boat Festival will be in New Zealand in 2022!

    Just hope I will be fit enough to attend .....

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited June 2020

    Just to bump this to the top again .....

    Here's a link to the International Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Commission (or whatever they call themselves) newsletter.

    https://www.ibcpc.com/keepingabreastmarchapril2020

    Unfortunately for many of us, the dragon boat season has been cancelled this year. It is technically possible to physical distance in a dragon boat, ie about 4 paddlers and a steers, but our boat is still on terra firma, and won't make it into the water this summer. 😔

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  • lisandro
    lisandro Member Posts: 3
    edited February 2021

    There are a special spirit and ethos to Canadian dragon boating. 'Je ne sais quoi', there is a mysterious intangible for us Canucks with paddles. I think part of it is the culturally-based Asian social influence, and I suggest another part is the deep involvement of breast cancer survivors. Thanks to the research of Canadian doctor Don Mackenzie, dragon boating has become the official sport for women who are battling that disease. 'Pink Paddler' survivors join together in every major Canadian city to race and bond and positively influence each other. I suggest that Pink Paddlers are a very powerful inspiration for all Canadian dragon boaters. When you're sore and aching after 60 minutes of pause drills, and you just want to quit, then you look over and see 20 middle-aged women who just came from chemotherapy to paddle 200-meter race drills, it's amazing how much energy you can find in the tank. The Pink Ladies do so much for the sportsmanship, drive, and pride of Canadian dragon boating. I suggest that this intangible contributes to how passionate Canadians are about DB paddling as a whole.

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  • Chemokaze
    Chemokaze Member Posts: 208
    edited March 2021

    Same here in Texas - season cancelled - our team’s brand new dragon boat has not touched the water yet....maybe later this year...

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  • DutchieGirl
    DutchieGirl Member Posts: 103
    edited April 2021

    I joined Knot a Breast team last January. It’s been interesting in that we haven’t been able to get into a boat. Last summer, we “newbies” paddled poolside at our coach’s home to get the hang of the stroke. I sooooo look forward to getting in that boat!! The women on the team are amazing. Can’t wait till this pandemic is over!

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  • Morwenna
    Morwenna Member Posts: 1,063
    edited August 2021

    We have been paddling, appropriately distanced, in V12 outrigger canoes ... initially just 6 paddlers in a 12 person craft. With easing of restrictions we have been able to put 6 paddlers in a V6 outrigger, which is fun, and for the last 2 weeks we have been out with a full crew in the dragonboat!

    Covid numbers are on the up, but it's a requirement for all paddlers to be double vaxxed, and hopefully will be safe to continue for what is left of the season ...

    Fingers crossed that next year it will be safe to attend race weekends!

    Just as an addendum, the next international event, in New Zealand, was postponed from 2022 and put back to 2023, so let's hope!

    M

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  • Rah2464
    Rah2464 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited August 2021

    There is a dragon boat event here in Kentucky in early September. I am not paddling this year but I will be there to watch and cheer all on!

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