‘Grandmas’ paddle for purpose
By Burton Cole
ALEXANDRIA — Breast cancer survivor Sherry DeWald, 57, of Grassy Creek still chuckles about the time she and the rest of the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts Dragon Boat Racing Team was pitted against a team of young, CrossFit guys — and won.
“I can’t believe we got beat by a boatload of grandmas!” one of the in-shape paddlers muttered.
“I guess we look old and decrepit,” DeWald said, as she laughed.
Old and decrepit? More like “Surviving in Sync,” as their motto states.
“I like the exercise. It makes me do something,” said retired educator Pamela Harper, 75, of Falmouth, who’s been on the team since it first dipped paddles in the water in 2009. “I like the camaraderie between paddlers, especially those who have gone through breast cancer.”
A 26-year breast cancer survivor herself, Harper said that it’s nice being among compassionate women.
Besides, “Exercise is really good for a 75-year-old. If I wasn’t doing this, I don’t know how much I would do to push myself.”
The local team made up of breast cancer survivors and supporters once again is hosting the Kentucky Dragon Boat Festival — Paddling for the Pink — 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 7 at A.J. Jolly Park.
“We were the first breast cancer survivor dragon boat team in Kentucky, and one of the few in the world that puts on our own festival,” coach Priscilla Elgersma said.
The festival benefits the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Central Kentucky Women’s Health Centers; the ongoing mission of the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts, and the ongoing mission of Paddling for Cancer Awareness (P4CA).
DRAGON BOATS
“The sport is 2,500 years old and started in China,” Elgersma said.
Dragon boats are long, narrow boats of open design.
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