Dragons Abreast Dragon Boat Challenge for corporate/social crews 24 October 2009
Testimonials
Thank you all for making us Bravheart ladies feel so welcome, we all had the most wonderful time, your Encore campsite looked so wonderful and we have the little dragon & certificate in our boat shed, hes so cute, the weather was very kind to us also.
A great effort for a very well organised regatta, and wonderful venue.
Many thanks again
Maxine Reid
Bravehearts Albury/Wodonga
2008
DA ACT Regatta wrap up Speech by Susi Gross
Susi spoke at a wrap up meeting on 20 November to thank and explain to donors what happens to the funds raised by the Dragons Abreast ACT Corporate Challenge Regatta on 25 October 2008.
I’m here to tell you a little about how the organisations we support with the money we raised have affected and continue to affect the life of someone who is a breast cancer survivor like me. I will mention four of the organisations that benefit from the money raised:
- BCNA, Breast Cancer Network Australia, which is the national voice of Australians affected by breast cancer
- DA ACT, Dragons Abreast Tickled Pink, our local dragon boating team and BCNA member
- Dragons Abreast Australia, our national organisation
- Otis Foundation which provides holiday accommodation for breast cancer survivors in beautiful locations, free of charge.
In 2004, at age 35 I was diagnosed with breast cancer; the same year I migrated to Australia and married here. Naturally, this was a huge shock. At that time I had never known anyone close with breast cancer so I didn’t really know much about it.
The My Journey Kit issued free of charge by BCNA was very helpful in that situation. It included many brochures and information material and really helped me make informed decisions. It also made me realise that there is support out there.
About two years later, a friend, Carolyn Parsons, persuaded me to come and try out dragon boating here with Dragons Abreast in Canberra, the team that has organised the regatta. I loved it straight away. Dragon boating is such a fun sport for fitness, you get to do it on wonderful Lake Burley Griffin, one Canberra’s great assets. If you have been out on the water on an early morning you know there is hardly anything more beautiful. I’m sure you have all had a taste of that. It was fantastic to do all that with a group of women who had gone through the same thing as me. You could talk about cancer related issues. I experienced this as a new level of support. You can talk about it but you don’t talk about it all the time because you have to paddle too, and that’s probably a healthy mix. I have made some great friends.
A few months later, I experienced a wonderful event organised by the national Dragons Abreast team, DA Australia. Did you know that DA Australia is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year? DA Australia organised Abreast in Australia, a huge International breast cancer survivor regatta, in Caloundra, Queensland, for about 2000 paddlers. There were lots of fantastic surrounding events. DA Australia did an amazing job organising it. We are lucky to have three people from our local team who were on the planning Committee: Anna Wellings Booth, Jan Skorich and Elspeth Humphries. It was fun (never underestimate fun!); you realise you are not alone with this disease and it was also a special event for me because I was able to catch up with Carolyn Parsons who was based in Tassie and who has since then lost her battle with breast cancer. So, I have good memories of Caloundra.
Unfortunately, in May this year I was diagnosed with a second primary and that meant surgery and chemo again. This time around my DA friends were there which made a difference. They gave me fantastic support on an emotional and a very practical level (regular calls, soups, lifts to doctor’s appointments, etc.) and I am very grateful.
The Otis Foundation gives breast cancer survivors the chance to have a break —to enjoy a stay in a holiday accommodation in beautiful surroundings free of charge. In conjunction with Otis, Elspeth Humphries is one of the very generous people who open their place in Thredbo to breast cancer survivors for that purpose. So, in September I spent four beautiful days in Thredbo. I wrote on all my postcards to Germany that a month after chemo I had climbed Australia’s highest mountain (and I don’t think I mentioned the chair lift.) Of course, being in the Snowies was beautiful but so was our accommodation. When we first arrived there was a welcome pack from the Otis Foundation with goodies such as bubbles, tea, cosmetic samples — a great pampering experience. The best thing about the stay was that I didn’t think much about breast cancer at all during that time.
As you can see BCNA, DA ACT, DA Australia and the Otis Foundation have all helped me on my breast cancer journey. So, my thank you for your support is a very personal ‘thank you’.
Susi Gross
Thanks for a great day on Saturday. Women in Super really enjoyed the day - had lots of fun. It was an impressive organisational effort on the part of Dragons Abreast. We will be back again next year I am sure.
Kind Regards, Cate Wood (Women in Super)
Thank you for a fabulous day on Saturday. We are already preparing for October next year, see you then, kind regards, Cheryl
Cheryl King,
Office Manager
Allied Health Unit
Calvary Health Care ACT
Our community involvement
Dragons Abreast Australia regatta
Dragons Abreast Australia promotes breast cancer awareness and education, primarily, but not exclusively, through the sport of dragon boat racing. We have participated in the national regatta every year since 2004.
This page last updated:
November 3, 2009
