A Waterloo-based dragon boat team made up entirely of breast cancer survivors is asking the community for help as it prepares to compete on the international stage. The Dragonflyers, part of the Waterloo Paddling Club, will travel to the French Alps at the end of August to compete in the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission Festival. The event will bring together more than 4,500 breast cancer survivors from 25 countries for a week of racing, education and celebrating survivorship. The team includes women from across Waterloo Region and surrounding communities, each with their own cancer journey. “I was diagnosed six years ago,” said paddler Ramona Mattix. For teammate Robyn Schuller, her diagnosis became far more serious than expected. “The cancer had spread to two out of six lymph nodes that had been taken,” she said. Natalie Laing, a retired Brantford police officer, said her retirement plans changed dramatically after her diagnosis. “My retirement plan quickly became a plan of survival,” she said. While each woman has a different story, they all say the team has become an important source of support. “If I hadn’t found this group to support me, I don’t know where I’d be,” Mattix said. Schuller said joining the Dragonflyers gave her hope during treatment. “I was just blown away and so inspired by seeing women that were 20 years older than me surviving. So I knew that I could survive as well,” she said. Now, the team is preparing for what members call a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “We committed a couple of years ago to take a full boat to France,” said Tanya Olsen, another dragon boater. Getting there, however, comes with a hefty price tag. “It’s around $100,000 to get just the core group of 24 to 25 paddlers, plus our coach there,” Olsen said. The team has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover travel, registration and equipment shipping costs. For Schuller, the trip represents much more than an athletic competition. “When you’re in the boat, no one’s poking you, no one’s prodding you, no one’s scanning you,” she said. “You don’t have time to think about what you’ve been through or what you have going on next.” Laing said simply reaching the point of competing internationally is a victory in itself. “It’s just unimaginable that at a point where I didn’t even know if I was going to survive, now I’m going to be, and all the women along with me, are going to be international athletes,” she said. The Dragonflyers have spent the past two years fundraising through community events, including garage sales, bingo fundraisers, silent auctions and Mother’s Day teas, raising more than $15,000 so far. They hope additional community support will help carry them to France.
