Visit our Featured Warriors page to read some of our stories! The following words were written by one of our original members and the words still hold true – except that we now have 3 additional coaches!
“On or off the boat we are united as a team. We support and encourage each other. Not only is dragon boat paddling good for our health, it’s a lot of fun.
We are excited each week to join our friends on this paddling journey being coached by our intrepid leader, Coach Peter. He teaches that by working together, nothing is impossible. When we’re tired, we can keep going. We all work together to tap our inner reserves and come off the water feeling stronger.
We cherish the views from the middle of the Charles River. What a spectacular place to see the setting sun reflected on the river and buildings of the Boston skyline.
We love the warm temperatures, longer daylight hours, and the evening breezes. Even the river is warm. In the early summer, ducks and geese drift by with their babies in tow, and an occasional fish jumps high in the water.
We savor our accomplishments – learning to paddle better, harder or faster. Our experiences on dragon boats help make us stronger.
We appreciate the support and encouragement of other dragon boat teams. In the summer months, we have friendship races up and down the river to practice our starts and build our endurance. Nothing cheers us on more than a “Great race!” from a competing team.
We relish the exhilaration of flying across the water when we paddle in sync with each other. Coach Peter’s “You’re doing well,” is music to us all.
We treasure the sense of being alive, using our muscles and building our strength.
We are grateful to family and friends who give us this time and are there to support us – not just at dragon boat competitions – but every day, rain or shine.
We paddle for other cancer survivors and caregivers to pass on the HOPE that has been given to us. We want to show them there is a lot they can do, even as they work through their own cancer experience.”