Paddles up, ladies!
At first glance, the 11 women paddling to a drumbeat up New Glasgow’s East River look like any other dragon boat squad — teamwork and concentration.
But every member of the ABreastARiver Dragon Boat Team has one key thing in common: they are all breast cancer survivors and they are training hard for a once-in-a-lifetime event in Florence, Italy, next month.
That event is none other than the International Breast Cancer Paddler’s Commission Dragon Boat Festival and ABreastARiver will be there from June 28 to July 12, paddling Florence’s famous River Arno and taking in one of Italy’s cultural gems.
“I’m really excited to be with 5,000 women who are breast cancer survivors and listen to what they do,” said team member and trip co-ordinator Faye Booth.
ABreastARiver is joining forces with another 14 women from the ABreastAhoy team out of Saint John in New Brunswick.
Booth said that she enjoyed the camaraderie between cancer survivors that events like this help foster, helping people look ahead to a brighter future.
“There is a wonderful life after a breast cancer diagnosis. Get out there and exercise and enjoy every day that we have,” said Booth.
While this year’s tourney is in Italy, the festival was the brainchild of Canadian sports medicine physician Don McKenzie roughly 20 years ago.
Since then, dragon boat racing has become rehabilitation therapy for thousands of people recovering from cancer treatments.
The IBCPC Dragon Boat Festival is held every four years under the auspices of the International Breast Cancer Paddler’s Commission. The festival is billed as an international non-competitive participatory event targeting breast cancer survivors teams who engage in Dragon Boat activities as post-operative rehabilitation
The 2018 festival is the first ever to be held in Europe. The Florence tourney will see 129 racing teams from 17 countries across the globe.
Participants will be mostly women aged between 20 and 80, who will be cheered on by family friends as they paddle along the River Arno.
The IBCPC festival itself runs from July 3 to 8, but the New Glasgow ladies have a few extra days to take in the sights.
Florence itself is the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region and is home to architectural and artistic masterpieces of the Renaissance. Iconic sights include its centuries-old cathedral or Duomo and Michelangelo’s David sculpture, among many others.
Booth’s final message to the Italian people was simple: “Here we come!”