Abreast in Australia, September 2007
12/11/07 17:59
In September, 2007, BreastStrokes Dragon Boat Team sent a partial team to Caloundra, Australia (north of Bisbane), to compete in the second international breast cancer survivors' dragon boat regatta. We joined almost 2000 survivors from around the world to compete in this event. More importantly, we combined with a team from Tasmania to fill our boat and race.
The races at Kawana race site were very well organized. The wind was gusty and unpredictable, and the lake was definitely up hill! However,
it was a purpose-built site for racing, and the man running the races was an experienced professional.
We did very well with our combined team of Tasmanians and Canadians. Tazzies are in pink, Cannucks are in red in the photo above. They were
wonderful, and everyone paddled their little hearts out. We were first in our lane every race, and turned in several respectable times below 3 minutes (around 2:48 was our best for 500 meters). I am so proud of the effort made by everyone in our colourful combined team. The Tasmanians gave as much to us in enthusiasm and courage as we gave to them in experience. The end result was that we were all winners. I know our experience would not have been as rich as it was, had we not had the opportunity of combining with the Tasmanians and our little Nicole from Montreal.
Many thanks to everyone involved, for their hard work and companionship during this excellent adventure.
Cheers,
Connie
Steersperson
BreastStrokes Team
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