CanSurvive Dragon Boat Team
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CanSurvive was formed in 2003. It began as a general cancer survivor team, but now all of the boat crew have had a breast cancer diagnosis.
Our team members come from all walks of life and different circumstances. To ensure everyone has the chance to participate we spend a lot of time raising funds to cover uniforms, training fees, travel and regatta fees.
The National Dragon Boat Championships are the highlight of the dragon boat season. It is a time when we participate in races specifically for breast cancer survivors giving us the opportunity to compete against equals. The 2014 season has seen the team take gold in the 500m National Title for the first time in its history.
Silver medals were also attained in the 200m and 2000m events, making this the most successful season to date.
Being diagnosed with breast cancer and facing the gauntlet of treatments to ensure the best chance of survival brings out an inner strength that is definitely part of what makes our team outstanding. We are an enthusiastic group of survivors who thrive on the positive outcome that being involved in a dragon boating team provides. As well as gaining support within the team – we hope our profile shows other women that there is a positive outcome from such a challenging journey.
The team, guided by Captain Carolyn Stephens, and Chairperson Sonya Young, have worked tirelessly to realise their dream of competing at the International Breast Cancer Survivors Dragon Boat Festival as the National Champions.
They travelled from New Zealand for this quadrennial competition on October 19 2014, with the aim of racing in the grand final. Exceeding all their expectations, the team improved on their paddling times over the 500 metre course every time they raced. They made it to the Grand Final as eighth qualifiers and gave it everything in the final race to win third place against Pink Steel from Pittsburgh USA (2nd) and Knot Abreast from Canada (1st).
They are very proud competitors. See the incredible IBCPC Dragon Boat Festival here and the grand final race here.
To donate to the team and support them to continue competing around New Zealand for the 2015 season please go to their GIVE A LITTLE campaign. The team requires $30,000 annually to maintain their training and competition schedule.
Our team members come from all walks of life and different circumstances. To ensure everyone has the chance to participate we spend a lot of time raising funds to cover uniforms, training fees, travel and regatta fees.
The National Dragon Boat Championships are the highlight of the dragon boat season. It is a time when we participate in races specifically for breast cancer survivors giving us the opportunity to compete against equals. The 2014 season has seen the team take gold in the 500m National Title for the first time in its history.
Silver medals were also attained in the 200m and 2000m events, making this the most successful season to date.
Being diagnosed with breast cancer and facing the gauntlet of treatments to ensure the best chance of survival brings out an inner strength that is definitely part of what makes our team outstanding. We are an enthusiastic group of survivors who thrive on the positive outcome that being involved in a dragon boating team provides. As well as gaining support within the team – we hope our profile shows other women that there is a positive outcome from such a challenging journey.
The team, guided by Captain Carolyn Stephens, and Chairperson Sonya Young, have worked tirelessly to realise their dream of competing at the International Breast Cancer Survivors Dragon Boat Festival as the National Champions.
They travelled from New Zealand for this quadrennial competition on October 19 2014, with the aim of racing in the grand final. Exceeding all their expectations, the team improved on their paddling times over the 500 metre course every time they raced. They made it to the Grand Final as eighth qualifiers and gave it everything in the final race to win third place against Pink Steel from Pittsburgh USA (2nd) and Knot Abreast from Canada (1st).
They are very proud competitors. See the incredible IBCPC Dragon Boat Festival here and the grand final race here.
To donate to the team and support them to continue competing around New Zealand for the 2015 season please go to their GIVE A LITTLE campaign. The team requires $30,000 annually to maintain their training and competition schedule.
