In one month the women of the intrepid Sunshine Dragons Abreast and their loyal supporters are off to Sarasota, Florida to compete against their peers in the team’s fourth international festival.
For Gill Kydd, who along with Carol Standfield, Sue Clyde and the late Sally Haugen founded the team in 2005, it’s an opportunity to meet up with old friends from around the globe. Nine years ago when the Sunshine Dragons Abreast first hit the water, the main objectives were exercise and camaraderie and not much has changed in that regard. Now as ever it’s an opportunity to overcome a life-altering diagnosis with people who are going through some of the same experiences.
“It’s a real eye opener to be with women who’ve gone through what you’re going through. It’s just terrific therapy. We have 20-year, 25-year survivors. It helps the newcomers think, ‘I can be like that. This isn’t a death sentence.’ It also brings you closer to the people who don’t make it,” Kydd said.
She relishes the fact that dragon boating began in Vancouver in 1996 when Dr. Don McKenzie, a University of B.C. professor in the department of sports medicine, challenged the status quo of the time that decreed women should not strain their upper bodies after breast cancer treatment. McKenzie quickly proved his case.
Kydd started paddling in Calgary about 12 years ago. After moving to the Coast when she and husband Ron retired, Kydd commuted to Vancouver to paddle for a couple of years. Soon she speculated about having a team here.
“I thought ‘I bet we [Standfield, Haugen and Kydd] could start a chapter here.’ We put out posters and 75 people showed up, not all breast cancer folks but dragon boaters. Sally and her husband Max and Ron and I had faith and bought a boat. In no time I got my money back,” Kydd said.
Now dragon boaters on the Coast have two full-sized boats and a smaller one. It takes 20 people to paddle in a race plus a steersperson and a drummer — the dragon’s head and tail.
Kydd has participated in all three of the previous international festivals the team has been to — Vancouver, Peterborough, Ont. and Australia. She’s excited to be part of the coming event.
“There will be 3,000 survivors from all over the world gathered together just having a blast. There will be teams from South Africa, Poland, Great Britain and tons of Canadians to name just some countries,” she said.
And the competition is just a small part of it. Many of the best parts take place well off the water. “In Peterborough everyone in the city got in on the act. The mayor sported a pink tie. They painted a garbage truck pink. Somebody dyed their dog pink. It was amazing,” Kydd said.
Many on the team are heading for their first international races. Others are veteran participants. One of them, Denise Quarry, was featured in a past series in Coast Reporter when the team went to Australia in 2007.
Then as now there was great need for fundraising. This year the team will host their annual fashion show to swell the coffers. In addition they’ve done several smaller fundraisers such as book sales.
Quarry is in better health now than she was for the trip seven years ago. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in October 2005. Following that she had surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, more surgery and then reconstruction surgery.
Quarry joined the team in April 2006 when she had one more surgery to go.
“I’ve been steadfast ever since. [Paddling] is a fabulous thing to do. Every member of the team has gone through the diagnosis, you don’t know if you’ll be around. That’s a common emotion. All of us have trauma, a little bit or a lot,” she shared.
“After joining the team my strength came back day by day. We share laughter and a road to recovery. [Dragon boating] is about doing your best and being able to participate. It’s about inclusion,” Quarry said.
“By doing all of this we bring awareness to breast cancer. The best defence is early detection. At one time no one would talk about breast cancer. Now we use the “C” word all the time. Everyone on the team has been very brave in their own way.
She’s looking forward to going to Florida. Women she’s met at other regatta have been emailing her. The team will pick up guest paddlers from Los Angeles and Nanaimo, and former Coaster Cheryl Thompson will be meeting up with the team in Sarasota.
Quarry has huge praise for Kydd.
“She’s been the team coach since Australia. She always looks for the way that’s the most fair for everybody. She wears her heart on her sleeve and motivates through encouragement.
The team is always happy to have new members and every age is welcome. For more information, call 604-885-0151.
