Rowbust Dragon Boat Racing Team is not your average sports team. Every member of this team is a breast cancer survivor. We’ve all been faced with life-threatening situations and have beaten the odds. In essence, we have defeated our dragons and now we race them!
In the spring of 2000, Dr. Annette Richard appeared in a newspaper article discussing the benefits of exercise and Breast Cancer survival. She encouraged survivors to attend an information session and from that the Rowbust BCS Dragon Boat Racing Team was born!
Dragon boating for Breast Cancer Survivors (BCS) celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015. The sport has grown from one team in 1995 to over 150 worldwide in 2015.
Through the mentorship of other breast cancer survivors, in London and area, Rowbust members are role models who are committed to educating and raising awareness in our community about the many positive benefits of physical activity after breast cancer in order to achieve the highest quality of life.
We train year-round to get stronger and faster on the water, but we also provide friendship and support for each other through our journeys of survivorship and, all too often, the journey back through cancer. Members we have lost become the angels who push us forward. We provide hope and support for those who continue to fight cancer and others who unfortunately must face it for the first time.
Rowbust’s core values are: Integrity, Respect, and Dedication to Excellence. These values are incorporated into every team decision we make and help to ensure a positive, meaningful experience for all members.
Rowbust competes in Regional, National, and International dragon boat racing competitions. We are NINE TIME (2010 – 2018) National Champions as well as THREE-TIME Club Crew World Champions (CCWC) in the BCS division.
Prior to 2010, there was not a BCS division at the Canadian National level and it was Rowbust who were pioneers in getting the division recognized by Dragon Boat Canada. Gaining National recognition meant we were eligible to compete at the CCWC who, in 2014, opened its doors to the BCS division for the first time!
In 2014, Rowbust traveled to Ravenna, Italy for the CCWC and paddled our way to win GOLD in three race distances of 200m, 500m, and 2000m! Returning to CCWC in Adelaide, Australia in 2016 and to Szeged, Hungary in 2018 we successfully defended our title to become three-time Club Crew WORLD Champions.
We are also an active member team of the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission (IBCPC) and attend the International Participatory event held every four years. This festival is the ULTIMATE Celebration of Sisterhood & Survivorship!
