For these breast cancer survivors, dragon boat racing is all about the camaraderie
Team members of the Avalon Dragons value both the physical exercise and the support system the sport offers
For many members of the Avalon Dragons team, winning the races at the annual dragon boat festival in Paradise is only one aspect of dragon boating.
While Sheila Griffiths-Beresford, who rowed in the St. John's Regatta for over a decade, wants to win, it's the support and understanding among the team members that made her join last summer.
"At first, I thought it may be a place that maybe people talked about their cancer and support each other in that way, but it's not really. That's the last thing on our agenda," she said.
"We work hard. We have a lot of fun."
Griffiths-Beresford, who acted as the drummer during the 11th annual Paddle in Paradise on Octagon Pond Saturday, was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2022, after she found a lump in her breast.
Around the same time, her husband was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, which led to the couple starting chemotherapy within a month of each other.
"You can imagine, that was quite a difficult ordeal to have to march through, but we managed it. And I really was more of a support system for him. He was suffering more than I was," said Griffiths-Beresford.
"And I found that I needed to find help somewhere for myself. I needed support."
As she had already paddled in the festival in the early 2000s, she knew about the Avalon Dragons — and that they were the group to turn to.
"I really don't know how I could have made it through last summer without this amazing group of women. I didn't paddle a whole lot because I didn't have much stamina, but they were there, they had experienced the things I was experiencing," said Griffiths-Beresford.
"They really buoyed me up. They lifted my boat and helped me get through what was a pretty difficult ordeal last summer."
To help women like Griffiths-Beresford on their emotional post-cancer journey, but also with physical exercise, a group of women started the Avalon Dragons in 2006.
Alice Mannion, team and festival chair, was one of the founding members, and said the connection between dragon boat racing and breast cancer survivors has existed since 1996.
That year, Vancouver doctor Don McKenzie started a breast cancer survivor dragon boat team to test whether there was any evidence that survivors who had had surgery or a mastectomy shouldn't raise their affected arm over their heads, lift heavy or exercise.
"At the end of the trial, basically, not only was it good for them, it made them even better. It helped them because they were getting more physical activity and it helped the lymphoedema," said Mannion.
"When you have surgery, then you sometimes get swelling in your arm. It actually helped that and it caught on."
Now, she said, there are teams all over the world.
This year in Paradise, the Dragons hosted a total of 11 teams, of which most only formed for the festival that also featured a lion dance, a ceremony to awaken the dragon, in which its eyes are dotted, and a flower ceremony, which remembered those who died due to breast cancer.
"The teams that are here are very much into it. There's a true spirit. The true spirit of the dragon is here," said Mannion.
And, said Jodie Rice, the group is trying to attract more people to the sport.
After her diagnosis, the five-year breast cancer survivor and former competitive bodybuilder was missing physical exercise — and so she followed a call to join a team for the 2022 festival.
"I was having a lot of joint issues following my diagnosis. So, getting in the boat, I was actually able to do it. It felt really good. I loved getting a good workout in and it was very welcoming," said Rice, who is now in her third season with the Dragons.
While she came for the exercise, said Rice, she has found a support system that has supported her mentally, as well.
"There's 20 people in a boat and we all have to be in time. Everybody has to work together and everybody has a part.... We all paddle together. We're all in time. And I think just that teamwork is almost like a camaraderie," she said.
"Everybody understands what you're going through. No matter what it is. They understand. They get it. They absolutely get it. And that's huge. I always say it's the support group I didn't know I needed."
That camaraderie is also what Griffiths-Beresford values — whatever the reason she might have a bad day.
"Generally, those bad days are not about cancer. It might be about anything that anybody else is experiencing, but there's always someone there to talk to or to have a laugh with," she said.
"At the end of the day, it's something to look forward to."
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