We paddle each week on Saturday mornings in the beautiful surroundings of Debdale. 

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Our Manchester Dragoneers team was formed in 2012 under the Paddlers for Life banner, a Breast Cancer Dragon Boat team.  We are here for anyone navigating life after cancer, finding ways to reclaim strength, confidence and a sense of community. We’re not about racing, (though we do occasionally take part in national and international regattas), we’re about enjoying a weekly unique exercise in the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of Debdale reservoir.  We think about what life has to offer us and we offer emotional support to those who have undergone treatment and their family and friends, our supporters.  We are about having fun, enjoying ourselves and reaching out for the new normal after treatment. 

 

We paddle every Saturday morning at 10.00am.  Our boats have to be prepared and launched, we do a short warm up and we aim to be on the water no later than 10.30am and we are usually back on land by 12pm.  We have two boats, Diana and Jane, which we usually bring together on the water half way through the training session for a break and a quick chat. We welcome all ages, all abilities, all levels of fitness. No experience is needed.

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Tea/Coffee and cake is available after our paddling session and we welcome everyone to join us.

 

Throughout the season we enjoy other activities such as sailing, kayaking, walking and other social events. 

 

We share the open water on Saturday mornings with the Debdale Junior Sailing Club, made up of young people who learn water confidence, sailing and other water based activities. 

 

As of 2024, there are over 380 dragon boat teams in 40 different countries dedicated to breast cancer survivors. Thirty years ago, there were none! Many rehab experts believed that regular strenuous exercise was too risky. In particular, they expressed concerns about possible lymphoedema, swelling of the lymph nodes in the upper arm area. Had it not been for Dr. Don McKenzie of the University of British Columbia (UBC), this might have stayed the prevailing wisdom. Dr McKenzie recruited and trained a team of breast cancer survivors who competed in the first dragon boat festival in North America in Vancouver, Canada in 1996; they showed that strenuous upper-body exercise could not only be safe but actually therapeutic.

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The IBCPC is an international organisation whose mandate is to encourage the establishment of breast cancer dragon boat teams, within the framework of participation and inclusiveness. They support the development of recreational dragon boat paddling as a contribution to a healthy lifestyle for those diagnosed with breast cancer.

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Please see https://www.ibcpc.com/about for further information.

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​​Breast Cancer survivors – recommendation is 3 months post treatment but we do have some ladies who want to live life to the full following diagnosis and have joined us mid-treatment.  

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