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Official Statement

The International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission is a non-political, non-partisan organization.  As such, we will not make any political statements supporting or denouncing any political actions.  The IBCPC has a zero-tolerance policy with regards to racism, classism, ableism, ageism, sexism, trans and homophobia, religious intolerance or any actions that deny human rights to our members.  Any accusations levelled by a member against another member, or a member of the Board ...

Olympic Flame

This Olympic year will be a busy one for the Dragon Ladies. No medal in sight, of course, but an extraordinary showcase. Three French crews will be represented among the torchbearers.The Olympic flame arrived on French soil on 8 May, in Marseille (Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region). It has to travel 12,000 kilometres before arriving in Paris on 26 July.During this voyage, which will shed light on the history of France and those who wrote it, on our natural heritage, on French creativity and kno...

Paddles Up from Southern California!

Submitted by Bette Ann Baker.The Los Angeles Pink Dragons are celebrating our 21st year of paddling out of Mother’s Beach in Long Beach, California.It is hard to out-do last year’s IBCPC festival in New Zealand, but we’re trying to keep it going! We thoroughly enjoyed Lake Karapiro and meeting so many of you; it was certainly a highlight for us.This year will be more subtle; but we’ve already had a couple of pre-season events.In February 2024 we were honored by California State Long Beac...

Auckland Anniversary Day

Submitted by Katherine Waller.Monday, January 29th, 2024, the Auckland Viaduct basin came alive with the vibrant sights and sounds of dragon boat racing as part of the 184th Oceanbridge Auckland Anniversary Day regatta celebrations. There was a lot of excitement being able to get on the water for this event due to the last 3 years being canceled due to Covid and the horrendous weather bomb that hit us last year causing devastating flooding across the city and wider areas.Cindy, one of our more e...

President's Report

Greetings from a warm autumn day in Christchurch New Zealand. We are lucky that the weather is still holding and that dragon boat paddlers are still able to get out on the water in the sunshine. I had a wonderful day with coaching two crews on Saturday morning. The temperature was 3c at the start but by the time the second session had finished we were paddling in warm sunshine. My greatest delight is to be on the water, whether paddling or coaching.I am aware that as our season in the southern h...

Chemo Savvy

2024 Season Off To A Strong StartThe beginning of February marks the annual start of dryland training for Chemo Savvy in Winnipeg, Canada. Although we are in the depth of winter, we are fortunate to have dedicated workout space and amazing trainers available to us at Balmoral Hall.Weekly, we will meet to work on our fitness, strength and flexibility, Spring is just around the corner, and as always, we hope for an early one so that we can hopefully get on the water sometime in May.Our team of jus...

Sport Accord Summit

Submitted by Meri Gibson.What an adventure it was to be able to get to the SportAccord on time. I finished my role as Event Safety Director at the New Zealand Dragon Boat National championships, hopped in a car and drove two hours to Auckland to get ready to board a flight to Dubai with a short stop over and then on to Birmingham. I had been flying for 25 hours plus the wait time of two hours in between connections in Dubai. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon in Birmingham only to be told that I ha...

Composite Teams

Submitted by Louise Granahan.I decided to start a composite team for France 2026. This was the first time I have done this, and I learned a lot, so I wanted to share some of what I learned with you.At first, I had hoped it would be a Canadian team, but in order to fill the boat, I let in some others who were interested. It then became an international team, which is wonderful. I did not allow people to join if their own team was going unless that boat was full.When making a team, you need to be ...

Dragica's Story

Submitted by Dragica Maric.From Newbie to Australian Championship paddler.Dragons Abreast Melbourne Pink Phoenix member Australia.I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer at the age of 44. At the time, I unfortunately didn't want to talk about breast cancer to others, and I didn't want to be around other women who had breast cancer or who were undergoing breast cancer treatment.However, in early 2023, everything had changed, and by mid 2023 I had approached Dr Monique Ryan MP to assist me wit...

Update From Croatia

Submitted by Zmajke!Dear paddlers! Every time we have something to say to this amazing group of women (IBCPC members), we get excited about it because we know that everything “dragon boat” is our way of life and that the readers will understand our excitement!Since our last report, a lot of fantastic things have happened, but the most exciting was our 2nd anniversary celebration which included not just the anniversary but also the christening of our two new small boats. The ceremony of chris...

Editor's Report

Submitted by Louise Granahan.It feels so good to be paddling again here in Canada after a long absence.  While our winter wasn’t very severe this year (in Toronto anyway), we can’t paddle from November to April/May. I hope that by now you have been able to register for France 2026.  I can’t believe it is only 2 years away.  The time will fly by!  There are so many things to think about already – will I need a new passport, will I need visas for the other countrie...

Scams

Submitted by Louise Granaham.It is amazing to be able to use technology to follow races, communicate with teammates, get information about regattas, etc.  Sadly, scammers are also a part of technology.  During the New Zealand 2024 Festival, a number of bogus Facebook pages tried to use our feed and then connect with people who were unaware that this was not from the IBCPC. These scams have happened again at the most recent festival in Auckland and at Worlds in Thailand, so there i...

Special Announcement from Brazil

It is with great pride that we announce to the breast cancer paddling community and all those interested that Larissa Lima is the supervisor of the Dragon Boat modality for the Brazilian Canoeing Federation (CBCa). A canoe athlete, Larissa won several titles and medals in Brazil and beyond.  Larissa is a breast cancer survivor, and is the founder and captain of Canomama, the first Brazilian breast cancer team.  Congratulations, Larissa!  The Pink Remadoras of Brazil movement ...

Unleash Your Dragon

Submitted by JoAnn Moore, USA Southeast National Rep.International Paddling Event: January 2025Registration is OPEN Getting excited about IBCPC 2026 in France has prompted cancer paddlers everywhere to start preparations and gather their teammates. What a better way to prepare than to attend this inaugural event in sunny Florida, USA, at one of the top paddling venues in the world!Nathan Benderson Park, where our 2014 IBCPC festival was held, has set aside four days for All Cancer Paddlers ...

Chemo Savvy

Submitted by Brenda Millan (Chemo Savvy)Celebrating off the Water2023 was a very busy year for Chemo Savvy. We had a much-awaited clinic with Kamini Jain in the spring. Two local festivals (in Winnipeg), a bus trip to Bemidji, Minnesota (got to hang out with a wonderful local BCS team), and a pre-pandemic planned trip to Montreal for the Quebec Cup.As a team we like to party and are known for our dance parties (even on zoom if necessary). This December we got together to celebrate the holidays a...

Auckland Anniversary Day

Submitted by Katherine Waller Monday, January 29th, 2024, the Auckland Viaduct basin came alive with the vibrant sights and sounds of dragon boat racing as part of the 184th Oceanbridge Auckland Anniversary Day regatta celebrations. There was a lot of excitement being able to get on the water for this event due to the last 3 years being canceled due to Covid and the horrendous weather bomb that hit us last year causing devastating flooding across the city and wider areas.Cindy, one of our m...

From the Desk of the Editor

Submitted by Louise GranahanAs I write this from Canada’s frozen north, it is frustrating to know that it will be many more months before I can get back on the water. In the meantime, I lift weights, do cardio and make plans for France!As your Communications Director, I am responsible for updating the Facebook page, responding to correspondence, editing the newsletter and attending regular IBCPC Board of Directors meetings. The Board meets about once a month. Lately, we have also been working ...

Catch-22 Ospreys

Submitted by Paula ZellarsThe Catch-22 Ospreys breast cancer team, located in Vancouver, Washington, recently came together for a lovely French repas-partage as they excitedly began preparing for the IBCPC regatta in Aix-les-Bains.The dinner was held in the lovely home of one of our teammates with the host and hostess looking very chic in their berets.  The atmosphere was quite French with swags of the French triclore on the windows and blue, white, and red napkins and plates in addition to...

News from Ireland

Words by Clodagh Flynn and Marion EganA composite team with members from Medb’s Dragon Warriors, Gráine Mhaol Dragons and Nore Dragon Paddlers were on their first adventure of 2024 at the Snow Dragon Festival in France recently. The event involves paddling a 12 crew DB on skis down a slope and across the flat to the finish line. A prestigious event with the President of the IDBF, Chinese Ambassador to France, Sylvain Munier of Dragon Boat Attitude and other dignitaries taking part in the open...

France Bulletin #3

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Kit Mitsuoka

Twenty years after her breast cancer diagnosis, Kit Mitsuoka is paddling strong, and inspiring others to experience the power of the dragon…including her granddaughter Kailey!“Dragon boating is therapy for me,” said Kit. After her breast cancer diagnosis in 2003, Kit had 20 nodes removed; her arm was always sore, to the point she sometimes couldn’t lift a coffee cup. Then in 2008, her neighbor in Morro Bay, California, Jeanne L’Amoreaux, invited her to paddle with a new dragon boat tea...

KC Dragon Boat Festival

In 2019, the KC Pink Warriors started up in Kansas and Missouri, where no other dragon boat teams existed and dragon boat racing was almost unknown. After watching BCP teams worldwide, Kansas City female cancer survivors gathered, trained and built a team with the promise of a sport and community that would transform their lives. Five years later, with 15 festivals under our belt, we are ready to welcome the dragon boat world to Kansas City!GWN and the KC Pink Warriors are proud to present the i...

France Bulletin #2

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Peterborough's Dragon Boat Festival

Submitted by: Michelle Thornton, Survivors Abreast member and Festival Chair.Making a Difference, One Race at a Time2023 was a record-breaking year for Peterborough's Dragon Boat Festival. Last October we celebrated the single largest donation in Festival history with a cheque for $290,025.18 going towards equipment to screen, diagnose and treat breast and other cancers at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). We also reached a significant milestone in 2023, as we surpassed the $4 mill...

News from Croatia

Submitted by Dubravka Karlovic-Babic, BUBA, president and IBCPC Croatia National RepThe Croatian team (Dragonboat Klub Zadar DBKZ or as we call ourselves Zmajke) had its last water training on November 4th, 2023. Due to inclement sea conditions we decided to take our boats out of the lagoon where we paddle onto the dry land.Luckily, we have free access to the community gym thanks to the city of Zadar department for sports. Hence, we started our dryland /gym training at the beginning of November ...