The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates a well-respected historical figure, Qu Yuan (pronounced CHOO-yoo-AHN). At the time, with corruption within the government of the Kingdom of Chu, Qu Yuan was falsely accused of treason by his political rivals. As a result, he was banished from the country. In despair and, perhaps as a final act of protest against the government, he threw himself into the Mi Lo River and drowned. Each year, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (usually June), crews of paddlers re-enact that frantic rush to save Qu Yuan, by propelling long narrow boats with the dragon heads through the water, to the rhythmic beating of drums. (source)
Dragon boat racing originated in China and its history goes back more than 2,000 years.
WHO
WE are
Breast cancer survivor dragon boat paddling began at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada in 1996. Dr. Don McKenzie, a professor in the Department of sports medicine and an exercise physiologist, challenged the prevailing medical thinking that women treated for breast cancer should avoid rigorous upper body exercise for fear of developing lymphoedema, a debilitating and chronic side-effect of treatment. Fast forward to today and the International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission reports 380 teams across 40 countries and growing daily with approximately 20,000 paddlers represented globally. We strongly believe dragon boating is medicine.
