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News From Argentina

The year 2024 burst onto the scene with a wave of good news for the Amazonas de Córdoba Foundation.  Just a few years ago, in 2017, they were just a small group of women who, against all odds, achieved the unimaginable. But now, they've surpassed all expectations, extending their support to more women than they ever thought possible.From those early days to the present, Amazonas de Córdoba has become a beacon of hope for over 190 women and one man who have bravely faced breast cancer. &nb...

Dragica's Story

Submitted by Dragica Maric.From Newbie to Australian Championship paddler.Dragons Abreast Melbourne Pink Phoenix member Australia.I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer at the age of 44. At the time, I unfortunately didn't want to talk about breast cancer to others, and I didn't want to be around other women who had breast cancer or who were undergoing breast cancer treatment.However, in early 2023, everything had changed, and by mid 2023 I had approached Dr Monique Ryan MP to assist me wit...

President's Report

Greetings from a warm autumn day in Christchurch New Zealand. We are lucky that the weather is still holding and that dragon boat paddlers are still able to get out on the water in the sunshine. I had a wonderful day with coaching two crews on Saturday morning. The temperature was 3c at the start but by the time the second session had finished we were paddling in warm sunshine. My greatest delight is to be on the water, whether paddling or coaching.I am aware that as our season in the southern h...

Sport Accord Summit

Submitted by Meri Gibson.What an adventure it was to be able to get to the SportAccord on time. I finished my role as Event Safety Director at the New Zealand Dragon Boat National championships, hopped in a car and drove two hours to Auckland to get ready to board a flight to Dubai with a short stop over and then on to Birmingham. I had been flying for 25 hours plus the wait time of two hours in between connections in Dubai. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon in Birmingham only to be told that I ha...

Special Announcement from Brazil

It is with great pride that we announce to the breast cancer paddling community and all those interested that Larissa Lima is the supervisor of the Dragon Boat modality for the Brazilian Canoeing Federation (CBCa). A canoe athlete, Larissa won several titles and medals in Brazil and beyond.  Larissa is a breast cancer survivor, and is the founder and captain of Canomama, the first Brazilian breast cancer team.  Congratulations, Larissa!  The Pink Remadoras of Brazil movement ...

Editor's Report

Submitted by Louise Granahan.It feels so good to be paddling again here in Canada after a long absence.  While our winter wasn’t very severe this year (in Toronto anyway), we can’t paddle from November to April/May. I hope that by now you have been able to register for France 2026.  I can’t believe it is only 2 years away.  The time will fly by!  There are so many things to think about already – will I need a new passport, will I need visas for the other countrie...

Limerick

Limerick breast cancer survivors find camaraderie and fitness through dragon boat padding.Read article below....

Peterborough's Dragon Boat Festival

Submitted by: Michelle Thornton, Survivors Abreast member and Festival Chair.Making a Difference, One Race at a Time2023 was a record-breaking year for Peterborough's Dragon Boat Festival. Last October we celebrated the single largest donation in Festival history with a cheque for $290,025.18 going towards equipment to screen, diagnose and treat breast and other cancers at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). We also reached a significant milestone in 2023, as we surpassed the $4 mill...

New Constellation

Submitted by Mariana Fernandez Semhan and Mathilda YahniSaben una cosa, cuando miro al agua, automáticamente miro al cielo y me pregunto: ¿el cielo quiere ostentar una nueva constelación al agua o el agua se ondula insistente para llamar la atención del cielo? Cielo, agua, agua, cielo.Como sea, en este ritual entre el agua y el cielo existe un lugar sagrado. Una constelación perdida sin nombre. Un lugar festivo y caudaloso. Un sitio bullicioso custodiado por un dragón, donde se reúnen un ...

14th IDBF CCWC 2024

The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) and the Italian Dragon Boat Federation (FIDB), cordially invite all crews from clubs affiliated to IDBF Members to participate in the 14th IDBF Club Crew World Championships (CCWC) in Ravenna, Italy from the 3rd to the 8th of September 2024. Key dates:IDBF registration system opens - 15 January 2024Provisional entries close - 18 February 2024 Confirmed entries close - 18 May 2024Final team names submission - 30 June 2024...

KC Dragon Boat Festival

In 2019, the KC Pink Warriors started up in Kansas and Missouri, where no other dragon boat teams existed and dragon boat racing was almost unknown. After watching BCP teams worldwide, Kansas City female cancer survivors gathered, trained and built a team with the promise of a sport and community that would transform their lives. Five years later, with 15 festivals under our belt, we are ready to welcome the dragon boat world to Kansas City!GWN and the KC Pink Warriors are proud to present the i...

News from Ireland

Words by Clodagh Flynn and Marion EganA composite team with members from Medb’s Dragon Warriors, Gráine Mhaol Dragons and Nore Dragon Paddlers were on their first adventure of 2024 at the Snow Dragon Festival in France recently. The event involves paddling a 12 crew DB on skis down a slope and across the flat to the finish line. A prestigious event with the President of the IDBF, Chinese Ambassador to France, Sylvain Munier of Dragon Boat Attitude and other dignitaries taking part in the open...

Prince Salty

Submitted by: Heike Auel, Ladybugs GermanyLadybugs Germany: A pink tractor to support early diagnosis of breast cancerThe Ladybugs have celebrated a very special ‘pink’ event. And when I say ‘special’, that’s saying something, because … the Ladybugs, a German pink paddling team located near Dortmund, have already achieved a lot of special things. One of it: Publishing, "Are you ready? Attention! Go!", a book about pink paddling and the Ladybugs.This time, just a few days before Chris...

Auckland Anniversary Day

Submitted by Katherine Waller Monday, January 29th, 2024, the Auckland Viaduct basin came alive with the vibrant sights and sounds of dragon boat racing as part of the 184th Oceanbridge Auckland Anniversary Day regatta celebrations. There was a lot of excitement being able to get on the water for this event due to the last 3 years being canceled due to Covid and the horrendous weather bomb that hit us last year causing devastating flooding across the city and wider areas.Cindy, one of our m...

Manchester Dragoneers

Submitted by Karen Birch...

Catch-22 Ospreys

Submitted by Paula ZellarsThe Catch-22 Ospreys breast cancer team, located in Vancouver, Washington, recently came together for a lovely French repas-partage as they excitedly began preparing for the IBCPC regatta in Aix-les-Bains.The dinner was held in the lovely home of one of our teammates with the host and hostess looking very chic in their berets.  The atmosphere was quite French with swags of the French triclore on the windows and blue, white, and red napkins and plates in addition to...

Chemo Savvy

Submitted by Brenda Millan (Chemo Savvy)Celebrating off the Water2023 was a very busy year for Chemo Savvy. We had a much-awaited clinic with Kamini Jain in the spring. Two local festivals (in Winnipeg), a bus trip to Bemidji, Minnesota (got to hang out with a wonderful local BCS team), and a pre-pandemic planned trip to Montreal for the Quebec Cup.As a team we like to party and are known for our dance parties (even on zoom if necessary). This December we got together to celebrate the holidays a...

Chile

Submitted by Paula FariasIn Chile we have worked tirelessly to achieve our dreams.  Today we have 16 teams that have started with almost nothing, only the desire to rehabilitate ourselves by practicing this sport.One of the dreams we had for years with the founder of the pink movement in Chile, Monica Hernandez, was the realization of a Dragon Boat Festival, where we could bring together the ancient Chinese traditions with our sporting activities.Our love and commitment for what we do is be...

News from Croatia

Submitted by Dubravka Karlovic-Babic, BUBA, president and IBCPC Croatia National RepThe Croatian team (Dragonboat Klub Zadar DBKZ or as we call ourselves Zmajke) had its last water training on November 4th, 2023. Due to inclement sea conditions we decided to take our boats out of the lagoon where we paddle onto the dry land.Luckily, we have free access to the community gym thanks to the city of Zadar department for sports. Hence, we started our dryland /gym training at the beginning of November ...

Pink Dragon Ladies, Tampa Bay

Submitted by Liz O’ConnellThe Pink Dragon Ladies® Celebrate 20 Years of Support Through Sport!Tampa Bay’s Pink Dragon Ladies® are marking their 20th anniversary in 2024! As the first cancer survivor team in Florida, they also celebrate the birth of BCP and ACP dragon boat racing in the state. The Pinks have watched the ripple effect as they share what they’ve learned and see new teams sprout up and then inspire other new teams.The team has good reason to celebrate – according to the IB...

Pink Phoenix Portland

Submitted by Adele Honeyman, Health & Fitness ChairPre-season Fitness Challenge - Pink Phoenix Portland, Oregon USAPink Phoenix Portland Oregon USA has created a simple pre-season Fitness Challenge to encourage the team to get motivated and increase fitness levels and strength in preparation for the upcoming season.Fitness Challenge Goal: Workout for 30 minutes, 3-5 times per week, over a 6-week period.Team members are encouraged to get into the gym or at home and do a workout, which could i...

Dragon Strong

Respectfully submitted by Ellen Jacobs, DCD Group Fitness InstructorThe Derby City Dragons staying Dragon Strong during the off-seasonLouisville, Kentucky’s Derby City Dragons are staying Dragon Strong during the off-season with workouts available via zoom and in-person at several community partner venues including Gilda’s Club, The Thrive Center, Anchorage Presbyterian Church and when the weather permits, the Louisville Community boathouse.Our team has 3 certified fitness instructors. Ellen...

President's Report

Submitted by Meri GibsonWell, it has been another amazing three months since our last newsletter.We are lucky in New Zealand now as we right in the heart of the dragon boat season and everybody has some great regattas to attend. I have through injury been ordered by my surgeon completely out for the season, but I am living my life for vicariously by going to as many events as I can to cheer on my team and other teams.I was fortunate enough to go to Hawkes Bay to see the beautiful new boat “Kah...

Dragons Abreast Tasmania Hobart

Written and submitted by Sonja Preston, member of DATHFun, Fitness and Friendship in Tasmania, AustraliaDragons Abreast Tasmania Hobart (DATH) was the first dragon boating club in Tasmania. Now there are seven clubs.  Tasmania is a small island with a big heart, 455km off the south east coast of Australia.We’ve come a long way in the past 21 years from when a small group of breast cancer survivors decided to start a club. For the first 12 months (while waiting to get a boat) they practise...

France Bulletin #2

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