'We are a sisterhood of survivorship': Winnipeg dragon boat team celebrates 25 years
A Winnipeg dragon boat team is celebrating 25 years of competition, and fighting breast cancer.
Every member of team "Chemo Savvy" has faced or still faces a breast cancer battle. This year the dragon boat team is marking 25 years of fighting the mighty waters of the Red and Assiniboine rivers.
Sylvie Mathers is one of the original members. She fondly remembers the team's first race in 1998, "We still raced with a smile on our face and we finished last, but we were still smiling," she said.
Mathers says at the very first team meeting there was a roomful of women hoping to paddle.
"They needed twenty to be in the boat. At that time they just drew names out of a hat and my name got drawn - number 36."
Eventually she got the call and training started.
"We didn't have a dragon boat. We trained in war canoes. We didn't know the stroke. We just were so happy to be together and to tell our story through dragon boating."
Team president Tammy Mayer says breast cancer dragon boating was born from research that showed paddling was ok for those diagnosed with the disease, "Back in the day when a woman received a breast cancer diagnosis it was understood that you couldn't exercise anymore, you shouldn't use your upper body," she said.
Mayer says the team now trains year-round in the gym as well.
"We are a sports team. So we are what we consider elite athletes but it is way more than a sports team. We are a sisterhood of survivorship."
Brenda Millan joined the team three years ago, "I was diagnosed in 2018 at 31, triple positive so I've had multiple surgeries, multiple times of chemo, its metastatic cancer so I've been diagnosed four times," she said.
Millan says dragon boating is the right sport for breast cancer, because the team works together on and off the water.
"Once you're with these women you are enveloped, it's a second family really."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Flights divert around western Iran as one report says explosions heard near Isfahan
Commercial flights began diverting their routes early Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been 'explosions' heard over the city of Isfahan. State television acknowledged 'loud noise.'
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.