Dragon Divas Journal

The Daybreak Rotary Badger Lake Dragon Boat Bash
Fort Dodge, Iowa
July 20 - 22, 2007

Fort Dodge Team

Eight Dragon Divas—and a few spouses who were ready to lend a hand—made the trek to Fort Dodge, Iowa, to participate in the Fort Dodge Dragon Boat Bash at Badger Lake, July 20-22.

The Badger Lake area is a beautiful spot, surrounded by rolling hills. With temperatures in the high 80s and a delightful breeze, the Dragon Divas helped kick off the Friday Boat Bash by joining the parade of teams. We proudly carried our Diva banner and chemo wigs down the hill to the gathering area. We presented our wigs and this poem as an offering to the Dragon:

Our wigs we are offering to the dragon dear,
Since Samson’s hair brought him strength and no fear,
The Dragon Divas have worked hard at length,
To regain their hair and their paddling strength!

Fort Dodge parade

Following the parade of teams, there was an Awakening of the Dragon Ceremony, and a concert by the Classic Rock All Stars. The elaborate opening ceremonies concluded with a wonderful fireworks display over the lake.

Our team raced twice on Saturday, and twice on Sunday with two heats in each race. Three other breast cancer survivor teams participated in the races at Fort Dodge. They were the "Fighting Angels Abreast," from Fort Dodge; "Making Waves," from Rochester, MN; and "Friends Abreast," from Dubuque, IA. Although the "Fighting Angels Abreast" was the only team with a complete roster, we eagerly combined resources with the other survivor teams to fill our boat for racing. We had to work quickly to train our new members for each race, which added to the fun and excitement of the event. When all was said and done, the Dragon Divas came in second place following our Fort Dodge friends, "The Fighting Angels." According to our resident statistician, Carol R., our average heat time for this festival was 124 seconds, with an average speed of 6 mph!

Early Saturday brought the festival participants together for a very moving Breast Cancer Survivor Ceremony. All breast cancer survivors were invited to paddle to the middle of the lake in Hong Kong-style Dragon Boats. The survivors held hands across boats while Linda Donner addressed the group to talk about the journey of cancer survivors—and of those less fortunate. At the conclusion of her talk, we each gently tossed flowers into the lake in memory of our lost friends. It was hard to find a dry eye in the boats or on shore.

On Saturday, evening, the "Fighting Angels" treated the breast cancer teams to a lovely poolside dinner at the Donner's home. The food was delicious but more importantly, we had the chance to meet and make many new friends. What a fun and memorable evening!

After racing on Sunday, the event concluded late in the afternoon with an award ceremony. We took home both dragon medals and a beautiful plaque—but most importantly, we took home the memory of many new friends from this remarkable weekend! The Fort Dodge Dragon Boat Bash theme—Friendship through Paddling—certainly rang true for us!

Our special thanks go to fellow Divas Robin and Cory who took on the daunting task of getting our beloved boat, "Nesse," safely from White Bear Lake to Fort Dodge and back again. Thanks to them (aside from some finicky trailer lights) transporting the boat went off without a hitch!

We look forward to our next Fort Dodge Dragon Boat Bash where we hope to compete with a full team.

If you are interested in supporting the team, or if you'd like to learn how you can join the team, contact Mary Skyrpek at mamaskry@aol.com.