By Rachel Levey
The International Breast Cancer Paddlers Coalition (IBCPC) Participatory Dragon Boat Festival is hosted every four years in a different part of the world. In some ways it feels like the Olympics of Dragon Boating, at least for the subset of paddlers who have faced or are facing a Breast Cancer diagnosis.
I can’t wait to show my strength and skill, to push myself and our team collectively, and hopefully to win a few races. I look forward to the exhilaration of powering down the course neck and neck with other dragon boats filled with paddlers from all over the world. I yearn for the feeling of burning lungs and shaky limbs after we cross that finish line. But, this festival is unique because it is about so much more than the “competition” aspect of this sport, giving survivors from all walks of life an opportunity to celebrate our collective strength, perseverance, and love.
This will be my first IBCPC event, but I am already dreaming of what it will be like. Thanks to the beauty of social media, as well as on the IBCPC website, it is easy to find many photos from past festivals to gain inspiration.
When I look at photos from past events, I am struck by the sea of pink t-shirts, with thousands of survivors smiling, hugging, celebrating life, and thinking of those who are only there in spirit. I want to get lost in that sea of pink. I want to close my eyes and drift on the waves of joyous sound coming from my sisters who have seen the darkness I have seen. I want to hug a complete stranger who doesn’t even speak the same language as me, but who understands me on a deep and intimate level because we have both walked through the same fire. I want to cry with and console new friends, as we remember those who succumbed to this battle, knowing that there will always be a thin thread of guilt woven through the sadness.
I want to meet women on all stages of their cancer journey, so that I may remember how far I have come and offer encouragement, and see how far I am still able to go. I want to make lasting friendships with other survivors and grow my own community of support, and watch them continue to excel and thrive long after the festival is over. Lastly, I want to appear in those photos in that sea of pink t-shirts, one among thousands. I will look at these photos for years to come and remember that I am not alone, that I am strong, and that I did not stop living when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Dragon Boat Racing is making its way towards being an olympic sport, at the 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics, there was a dragon boat race featured as a performance or exhibition event. If it is eventually accepted by the IOC, I hope to see paddlers competing on the Olympic stage who found this sport along their cancer journey. Even after that dream becomes a reality however, participating in the IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Festival will remain as one of the highest honors for Breast Cancer Survivors from around the world. I expect it to be a truly life changing experience
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