The Power of the Dragon: a Quebec experience with Dragon Boats

A few years ago, one of the members of my lymphedema support group mentioned that she is part of a dragon boat team. I looked at her in awe. A breast-cancer survivor with lymphedema in the arm, how could she possibly be involved in a strenuous sport?

At that time I was struggling with severe lymphedema in the leg following two surgeries and a lymph node dissection to remove an aggressive melanoma. I feared that I might never be able to walk, less so to participate in any type of exercise.

Today, I am a proud member of that very dragon boat team: The Power of the Dragon.

The Power of the Dragon is made up of twenty-five women between the ages of 35 and 73. Our paddlers include cancer survivors and their caregivers.

Our mission is to bring awareness to health professionals as well as to the general public about the health benefits of dragon boat racing, one of the fastest growing sports in North America. Physical conditioning derived from this sport is extremely therapeutic and leaves all participants with a sense of well-being and camaraderie.

Every winter we practice indoors in the Montreal Olympic basin, while seated in a stationery simulated boat. In the spring, as soon as the weather permits, we start practicing outdoors.

Summer is the season for dragon boat festivals and you will find our team participating in various competitions taking place throughout Quebec and Ontario. We have raced the 300 and 500 meter competitions in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Kingston. This year, we ventured the first-ever 6000 meter race in Montreal and were awarded first prize in the women’s category. (Although truth be told: we were the only women’s team that did take up that challenge).

We are not professional athletes - far from it - but we feel on top of the world when we are together in the boat, faced with the challenge of reaching a goal as a team. When we race, we hear nothing but the splashing of our paddles as they cut into the water and bring our boat forward. We feel only the fresh wind on our faces and the presence of our team-mates around us as we synchronize our paddling towards the finishing line.

We are all winners. We win time and again. Maybe we don’t finish ahead of the other teams; maybe we don’t even win the top award. But we know we are winners: we know it when we are in the boat, when our families and friends cheer for us on the sidelines, when we struggle to paddle yet another 100 meters to reach the finishing line. And we feel it when climbing out of the boat, all soaking wet, we hug and congratulate each other on a job well done.

And yes, we just finished our second year as a team, with plans for many more!