Warriors paddle for hope

A member of the Warriors of Hope dragon boat team sits atop the drummer's roost. Photo by Bill Walton.
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My old Webster’s defines ‘warrior’ as “a man taking part or experienced in conflict, esp. war; fighting man; soldier”.

While being politically incorrect today by excluding women, the rest of the description does fit nicely with the Warriors of Hope, our local Breast Cancer Survivor dragonboat racing team.

Those familiar with the synchronized flash of the Warrior’s paddles will be looking forward to the races this Saturday on Trout Lake. For those who have never experienced Dragonboat races or seen the Warriors of Hope in action, here is Warriors 101.

Show courage
Described as a team for which you never want to be qualified to join, the Warriors of Hope are group of women who have survived breast cancer and are using dragonboat racing as one way of winning their battle against this disease.

Formed in late 1999, their mission is to increase breast cancer awareness by being proactive in health and examination; to honour those who have gone before and offer hope to those who will surely follow; and to show courage and vitality by example. Not in the mission statement is the unwritten goal to win a lot of races, but that came later.

Not being a shy, retiring group of ladies, they aggressively sought out help – sponsors, trainers, coaches and non-paddling members for their volunteer board. They were delightfully surprised when the Bank of Nova Scotia jumped on board and donated a dragonboat for the team. Christened “Jane Doe” in June, the Warriors were soon drawing attention as they practised twice a week on Trout Lake.

Became a force
These were not 22 women in a boat out for a leisurely paddle. They had two Olympians as coaches who took over after the winter weight training under the eye of Larry Shepherd. For a group of women, many of whom had never been involved in team sports, let alone paddling a 39-foot boat that would weigh over two tonnes when loaded, they soon became a force to be reckoned with on the Ontario Breast Cancer Survivor circuit. (I hesitate to mention that my wife can do more push-ups than I can, but then she is a Warrior.)

Winning races is not their primary goal, but when you all work very hard at a common cause, the result is often better than you might expect. Their fight against breast cancer is continual, even for those who have held the disease at bay for many years.

The Warriors range in age from those collecting old age pensions to young women just beginning to raise a family. They have survived the cuts of the scalpel, the burns of radiation and the poisons of chemotherapy, so winning or losing a dragonboat race is secondary to just being there.

But they like to win. Paddling those big boats is not easy, as many dragonboat festival paddlers have found when they thought they could compete in a race with one or two practices. Five-hundred metres from a dead stop in less than three minutes seems an eternity when your arms, legs and backs are straining to keep in stroke and ahead of your next lane competitor.

The afterburners
Without giving away too many strategic secrets, the Warriors start a race with a stroke pace that makes those two tonnes of boat almost jump out of the water. They then move into their cruise rate for the next 130 seconds of a stroke per second. That is reaching out as far as you can, digging in, pulling water, paddle out, reach, pause and dig in again, all in a synchronized effort that keeps the boat straight down the course. Then for the last 50 metres or so they can turn on the afterburners.

The Warriors have won a number of gold medals and are the team to beat as they are always in contention. They do very well in women-only races and can hold their own with novice mixed teams.

After one race, a boat they passed in the last 50 metres came over to congratulate them. They were a mixed team of young men and women and one fellow exclaimed “Hey, you are all women!”

“Yes, and most of us are old enough to be your mothers!”

Someone at the back of the boat muttered “grandmother”, but a young lady asked, “Like, who are you?” “We’re the Warriors of Hope, North Bay – we’re a breast cancer survivor team!”

“Oh . . . my mother told me about you…”

“Yeah, we’re a tough bunch of old birds,” came that same voice from the back of the boat.

Shining swords
The Warriors’ weapon is the paddle.
Most of the paddles are personalized with symbols or dragons or secret signs to ward off the enemy, much like the weapons of yore. But after a Survivor race you will see them forming an honorary arch of their paddles for their competitors to walk through. Shining swords would not mean nearly as much as you watch the faces of the paddlers as they pass through, cheering each other on in their battle against cancer.

But the moment to watch for is when all the Survivor teams have their carnation ceremony at the end of the last race. Each paddler in all the boats tosses a pink carnation into the water in memory of past friends or someone they know who is fighting the battle against cancer. Few, if any, of the spectators does not know someone who has had cancer and I guarantee watching this most sincere moment will bring a lump in the throat or tear to the eye of everyone.

So if you want to see something different this weekend, go to Armstrong Park. Friday evening is for the opening ceremony when the dragons are awakened, Saturday is for the races. Food and drinks are available and there is no admission charge. Bring your sun screen and cheer on the Warriors of Hope.