Introducing ChemoSavvy from Manitoba, Canada

The Chemo Savvy Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Team started to organize in the fall of 1997 and by March of 1998, its members began a weekly workout at the Downtown YM-YWCA to prepare for Winnipeg’s dragon boat festival in August. Many of the women on the team had had little previous experience with a fitness regimen, but everyone was up to the challenge. By August, the team was strong with a roster for one crew and a few spares and many supporters. Although synchronicity (remember that word!) was not yet part of their lexicon, in their peachy-pink t-shirts they managed to catch the attention of the media. At the festival, the crew paddled two heats and though their race times were less than notable, they won the team’s first trophy; for being the “most inspirational”.

These days, the Manitoba Dragon Boat Festival – now held in September – attracts about 150 teams. Chemo Savvy enters two crews of 25. As fitness has improved and paddling skills increased, Chemo Savvy crews have finished at or near the top of the Women’s Division standings since 2000. These impressive performances have generated fans, attracted new members, and kept the team’s message of awareness, fitness and fun in the public eye. There are now two additional Manitoba festivals – Winnipeg’s River City Dragon Boat Festival, earlier in July, and the Wheat City Festival in Brandon – providing additional opportunities for Chemo Savvy crews to “go public” locally. The Wheat City Festival is also the “home” festival of Manitoba’s second breast cancer dragon boat team, Waves of Hope, which Chemo Savvy encouraged to organize in 1999. Dragon boat competition is what team members train for, but equally important is Chemo Savvy’s community involvement. Throughout the year, the team participates in events to battle cancer. From fundraising walks to fashion shows, from interviews with media to paddle arches for school and other public events, even to producing an indoor dragon boat mini-festival at last year’s World Conference on Breast Cancer, opportunities abound. These public appearances form an important part of the team’s mandate so members are obliged to participate to the degree that it is possible for them to do so. Chemo Savvy celebrated A Decade with the Dragon in 2007. The 10-year milestone provided the satisfaction of looking back at the team’s growth and accomplishments. The team’s roster has grown from the initial “single crew and a few” of 35 to over 70. Active members range in age from the mid-30s to 80-plus. Special considerations of such a wide age range, as well as the complications that come with surviving breast cancer, go into the design of the dry-land training program. The weekly workouts from February to the end of May have taken place at Balmoral Hall School since 2001 with three dedicated and volunteer physical fitness experts as trainers. Being a member of the Chemo Savvy Dragon Boat Team means meeting new friends and achieving better fitness. It means enjoying new feelings of well-being and the exhilaration of being “in the boat”. There is nothing quite as much fun as dragon boating. Each individual’s contributions and commitment are important to team building. There have been many lessons learned, but there will always be more as the journey continues.

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