Dragon Boating for Breast Cancer Survivors

Until very recently women who’d had breast cancer surgery had been told they shouldn’t participate in sport involving upper body exercise.  Doctors and other Medical professionals believed exercise may cause or aggravate complications like lymphoedema.  Dr. Don McKenzie from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada decided to test this theory and launched a Dragon Boat team called Abreast In A Boat in 1996.  He found that dragon boating after breast cancer surgery did not impact on the severity of lymphoedema and actually improved the health of the patients.  

Please visit Abreast In A Boat’s website for more information on Dr McKenzie’s findings www.abreastinaboat.com 

The first Australian Breast Cancer Survivor Dragon Boat team was established in the Northern Territory in December 1998 and has rapidly spread across the country ever since with paddlers now in every state and territory.  

Visit Dragons Abreast Australia’s website for lots of great info on paddling for breast cancer survivors and how to join a team in your local area.  www.dragonsabreast.com 

The Redcliffe Pink Snapdragons team was started in May 2005.  Our team's founder, Jayne Coe, had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and during treatment her mother gave her a magazine article about Dragons Abreast Australia.  Jayne loved the idea and soon joined the Redcliffe Dragon Boat Racing Club and began paddling with them, as their first Breast Cancer survivor member.  It was then that Jayne decided to create a breast cancer survivor team as part of the Redcliffe club.  Jayne chose the name 'Pink Snapdragons' for something pretty and feminine for herself and for future members to really feel like women. Pink snapdragons flowers, which are featured on our club logo, are also strong and long lasting.

We love our club and welcome survivors and supporters of all ages and walks of life with open arms!   Come and join us in our boat on Saturday mornings and Monday nights or visit us for breakfast on Saturdays at the Jetty Café in Redcliffe for lots of hugs and laughter!!

Please visit our website www.pinksnapdragons.com for info on training times etc.

A little bit of dragon boat history....

Dragon Boat Racing started in China over 2000 years ago.  Traditional Festivals commemorate the death of the poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the 3rd century BC in protest against a corrupt King.  Legends are that the local fishermen loved Qu Yuan so tried rescuing him by beating drums and splashing the water with their paddles to stop the fish from eating him and to scare away the evil spirits.

Dragon boating today is celebrated at festivals and regattas all over the world.  The boats are adorned with a colourful dragon head and tail which represents the Chinese Dragon believed to be a ruler of rivers and seas.  The ritual is also meant to avert calamity, drive away evil spirits and encourage rainfall, which is needed for good harvests.

The long canoe shaped boats are propelled through the water by 20 paddlers (sitting 2 abreast), 1 drummer to keep time and 1 sweep (or steersperson) to keep it on course.

The great thing about our sport is that all paddlers are equal, each paddler contributes to moving the boat forward.  You can be any age, any fitness and have no skills at first and still be a very important member of the team.  We have paddlers on our team and our sister team (the Redcliffe Red Dragons) aged from 12 to 70 plus!!