SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

by Joyce Elwood-Smith

To the Wellington CanSurvive Dragon Boat team, getting the gold medal at the National Breast Cancer dragon boat regatta was a thrilling and exhilarating end to an exceptional season, a dream come true! The long hours, hard slog training in all weathers on Wellington harbour, the physical exertion, sheer guts and determination, paid off. These 29 women, ranging in age from 42 to 72 deserve their medal. They have worked so hard, under the guidance of coach, Jacob De Feijter.
The previous weekend, they competed at the NZDBA Regionals in Auckland, where they won two silver medals, in the breast cancer division.

Last weekend March 29, they traveled to Lake Hood, Ashburton. They went to bring home the gold…and they did! It was an exciting, nail biting race, but they took the lead from the start in the 500metres, managing to keep control and win. At a special dinner that evening they were given a standing ovation by the 34 other teams.

The home coming, of these Golden Girls at Wellington airport, was jubilant. Every team member wore her gold and silver medals and the jingling as they walked through the airport, was impressive. No one was more proud than the waiting families, particularly husbands and partners.

These brave women have been through the trauma of breast cancer; a raft of surgeries, mastectomy, reconstruction and chemotherapy. They have come out the other side, strong and determined and not afraid to sacrifice their personal comfort. After training they go home wet, cold, exhausted, and exhilarated at what they are achieving.

They will not be resting on their laurels. They will continue training and working on their physical fitness, throughout the winter, because in October, these ladies are travelling to Florida, to compete in Sarasota, at the worldwide Breast Cancer Dragon-boating competitions. They will be representing New Zealand as the National Champions 2014. For info checkout www.sarasotabc2014festival.org/

CanSurvive have featured in Happyzine before. Two years ago they bravely produced a beautiful ‘Calendar Girls’ style calendar to boost their funds.

Tags: survivors