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Kootenay Robusters end 18th paddling season

Women of Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Christina Lake and Grand Forks came together in 2001
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Coach Trush Ostlund and the Victoria Festival team. Submitted photo

With the chillier weather and the end of September approaching, the Kootenay Robusters Dragon Boat Team is preparing to put their boat to bed for the winter, after a successful, albeit shortened, season. The heavy smoke from wildfires in our area, made paddling impossible for almost three weeks in August. However recent rains have cleared the air and allowed practices to resume.

This year the team welcomed some new paddlers and enjoyed getting used to their new dragon boat. They also attended the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival in mid August, racing in the beautiful inner harbor and achieving surprisingly good results. With an average age of 64, the Robusters knew it would be a challenge to do well in the highly competitive women’s recreational races but ended up fourth in the Diamond A division. This put them ahead of half the 23 women’s teams that raced.

As well, they received silver medals in the Breast Cancer Challenge Race. The Robusters recruited women from seven other teams to make sure the paddlers in this special race were all breast cancer survivors.

After the racing, the fun really started. ”We may not have won top spot in the festival, but we definitely won the beer garden.” coach Trish Ostlund commented. As the festival ended and teams from everywhere gathered to celebrate together, the Robusters dominated the dance floor as a band belted out songs from the sixties and seventies.

The team is looking forward to the last practices of the paddling season and the publication of Kootenay Paradise calendar for 2019. We appreciate the support of everyone who purchases a calendar, since this is our only fundraiser. It allows us to keep fees low so that any woman who would like to join the team can do so. Being a cancer survivor is not a requirement. Calendar sales also allow us to make a yearly contribution to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital oncology department.

Background ~

The Kootenay Robusters began in early 2001, the brainchild of a Trail nurse and breast cancer survivor. After hearing about the ‘Abreast in A Boat’ teams, she and several other women whose lives had been touched by breast cancer decided to start a local team and so, with no dragon boat, no paddling experience, and the closest lake miles away, the Robusters team was formed.

Women from the Kootenay communities of Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Christina Lake and Grand Forks came together, with the initial goal of competing in Vancouver’s dragon boat festival in June. Members included both breast cancer survivors and associate paddlers who joined to support the survivors.

The women embarked on a strength and fitness program, and after leasing a dragon boat from the coast, began paddling in late May on Christina Lake. With just one month’s training the team headed to Vancouver. In September the team raced in Kelowna, placing 2nd in the Breast Cancer Challenge race.