Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon. That’s the motto of the NorthBreast Passage Dragon Boat team, Prince George’s own group of competitive paddling breast cancer survivors.
“We’re all in the same boat so to speak, in that we’ve all had breast cancer,” says team president Barbara Old. “We’re there to show people that we can be physically active and we can be athletes even though we’ve had a devastating medical diagnosis.”
Dragon boating has become a kind of official sport for breast cancer survivors but that’s a relatively new development.
“Breast cancer dragon boat teams were started in Vancouver by a doctor there who kind of went against what the normal thoughts were on physical and medical abilities of women who had breast cancer. In those days, women who had breast cancer were told not to exercise too much.”
NorthBreast Passage has nearly 30 members, 22 of whom are active paddlers, ranging in age from 31 to 77. All have or are in remission from breast cancer.
During the summer months, they train twice a week at West Lake and attend at least one dragon boat festival. This year, it will be the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival on August 13 and 14, where they’ll compete in up to five races over two days. In the winter months, they do dry land training and begin practicing in the Four Seasons Pool in March.
Old says she was interested in dragon boating long before she qualified to join the team.
“About a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I immediately joined the team. Last year was my first season and I was still undergoing radiation and treatment when I started paddling.”
She says that the physical challenges of training and competing are empowering but the dragon boat team is about more than sport.
“For me, not only was it just having the physical exercise, but it was having a support group around me of people who knew what I was going through.”
Old says the team is always looking for new members, even if they’re not interested in paddling.
It costs $12,000 for the team to operate, including equipment, training and travel costs.
“We raise that money through bake sales primarily. And what we want to do is spend more time on our mission, which is to raise awareness around breast cancer and breast health so we are looking for sponsors.”
You can find more information about the NorthBreast Passage Dragon Boat team on their website or on Facebook.
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