Survivors paddle to bronze
To onlookers it seemed like there was plenty of spray on Wellington harbour on Saturday morning but CanSurvive dragon boater Mary McAvoy described conditions as ‘‘fabulous.
‘‘We’ve been out in conditions a long way worse than that.’’
The 20-person crew, every one of them a breast cancer survivor, earned the bronze medal racing in the women’s open division.
Normally they’re in a class against other cancer survivors ‘‘so we’re pretty stoked with that,’’ McAvoy said.
Women’s winners were CSW Women (Cancer Society Wairarapa), a crew that features several cancer survivors but also plenty of ‘‘feisty energetic young ladies,’’ the Hutt veteran said.
In the grand final CSW crossed the line in one minute, 28.5 seconds, not that much faster than CanSurvive’s best heat time of 1:31.04.
Hutt Valley Heat women were fifth in the grand final.
For CanSurvive it was the first outing in three consecutive weeks of tough competition.
This weekend they’re on the water at the Auckland Regional Dragon Boat Championships and then it’s the NZDBA Nationals (and Trans-Tasman/Oceania Competition) at Lake Pupuke, in Auckland on March 28.
A team spokesperson Bette Cosgrove says age or physical ability is no barrier to these paddlers, with three members of the team being septuagenarians.
Three Hutt Valley women in their seventies are members of the 25-strong squad of women of all ages and backgrounds.
In their determination to succeed in the sport, McAvoy, Jana Babor, and Marlene Solomon, ‘‘want to show others that there can be positive outcomes from a health scare such as this’’, Cosgrove said.
‘‘They recognise that the power and strength to win comes from coping with their breast cancer diagnosis.
‘‘The support and focus from being part of a team who have all dealt with similar challenges is what sets them apart from the other dragon boat teams.’’
McAvoy founded the CanSurvive team not long after finishing treatment for her cancer 12 years ago, and has paddled with it since. She also represents New Zealand on the International Breast Cancer Paddling Commission, which encourages the sport for survivors around the world.
‘‘One of the astonishing facts of dragon boating, and in particular breast cancer survivor paddlers, is that age does not matter and is only a number,’’ she says.
For McAvoy, the attraction of the sport is that is brings together a ‘‘mix of individuals and spreads awareness that breast cancer is not selective’’.
Last year they met the challenge of taking the 2014 National Dragon Boat title in the breast cancer division, and then went on to a third placing against 101 teams from around the world, at the International Paddlers Commission Breast Cancer survivors festival in Florida USA.
They have purchased their own safety boat so they get out on the harbour to continue to train after other teams end their season, and even built their own mini 10-seater training boat – Mawhero, blessed and launched on the Hutt River in January – to give them more flexibility and paddling time.
Another 10-seater is also being built and painted pink under the direction of coach Jacob de Feijter.
While CanSurvive have a full team for this season, McAvoy says they’re always open to giving other breast cancer survivors a chance to experience dragonboating.
Email cossiefamily@gmail.com