Dragon Boats
Photo by Steve Pajewski
I arrived at the lake about an hour after sunrise. The chilly autumn air was filled with energy and excitement as the teams and their supporters prepared for the day ahead. Competitors ranged from lanky high school students to silver haired seniors. As a spectator at my first Dragon Boat festival, I was looking forward to seeing the culmination of the hours training and preparation that the participants had invested. Each vessel, with its colorful dragon head, held twenty forward facing paddlers arranged in pairs; they were kept on course by a steerer standing in the back of the boat while being kept in sync by a rear-facing drummer seated in the front. At this event there were novice teams, youth teams from local schools, teams from out-of-state, and teams made up solely of breast cancer survivors.
You may be wondering what the connection is here to breast cancer. A short history lesson is in order. Although Dragon Boat racing dates back thousands of years, its modern version as an international competitive sport dates to the mid 1970s, and it grew quickly. In 1996 a sports medicine specialist in Canada, Dr. Donald McKenzie, formed a Dragon Boat team comprised of breast cancer survivors to challenge the prevailing view that these women needed to avoid strenuous activity.
For the women Dr. McKenzie’s group, spending time with people who had lived a similar experience could alleviate the isolation frequently felt after the end of active treatment. With Dragon Boating, the workload is distributed amongst many people; each member can participate in a way that challenges them physically without exceeding their ability. Paddling can strengthen the upper body, a definite benefit for those recovering from breast surgery. So, how did the study turn out? In the doctor’s own words, “In terms of impact on patients’ lives, it has been the most significant experience in my professional career.”
Looking back at my day beside the lake, I’m amazed by the lasting impact of the doctor and the original group of paddlers. In the late 2000’s the International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission (IBCPC) was formed; their current statistics show close to three hundred teams in at least thirty-five countries. If you needed to choose an activity, as Dr. McKenzie did, where participants can develop camaraderie, boost their mental health, and strengthen their bodies all at the same time, this definitely fits the bill. Festivals like the one I attended can raise awareness and raise funding to benefit research initiatives or programs that enhance other aspects of survivors lives. I applaud all those who participated in this weekend’s event. Regarding sports competitions, I tend to avoid the stance that “everyone is a winner,” but in the case of Dragon Boating, it may very well be true.
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You can read Dr. McKenzie’s original article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) here.