Dragons taking their paddles down under

Racing a dragon boat takes 22 people

By: Katie Wagner

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Members of the Machestic Dragons, a group of breast cancer survivors who race dragon boats, have been preparing to race in Australia.


   A team of local cancer survivors are gearing up to compete in a dragon boat regatta in the land down under scheduled for the end of the month.
   Seven of the Machestic Dragons will be traveling to Australia to compete in "Abreast in Australia," the largest breast-cancer survivor dragon boat regatta to date, with participation of breast-cancer survivors from around the world anticipated to exceed 2,000. The Machestic Dragons are a 6-year-old New Jersey dragon boat team composed of women of a variety of ages and backgrounds, who practice at the Mercer Lake in West Windsor.
   Racing a dragon boat takes 22 people, with 20 paddlers propelling the boat, one drummer setting the beat for the paddlers and one person steering with a 12-foot oar. The boat is more than 40 feet long and is decorated to look like a dragon, with a colorful head on the bow, a dragon tail at the stern and painting designed to look like scales on its sides. The sport began at least 2,000 years ago in Asia and its popularity has spread among breast-cancer survivors in Canada and the United States over the past few years.
   In Australia, the Machestic Dragons’ boat will also be rowed by members of a team from New South Wales, Australia, called the Rainbow Dragons Abreast.
   Carol Schonfeld of Princeton Township, one of the first women to join the Machestic Dragons, is excited about racing with her teammates in Australia.
   "We work out and try to beat our record each time we practice on the 250- and 500-meter courses, yet we’re not a competitive team," Ms. Schonfeld said. "We’re a recreational team. Our goals are to exercise, improve our upper body strength and feel good about ourselves.
   "When you find out you have breast cancer, you have to change your lifestyle, but knowing you’re still able to do something like this gives you hope and you’re encouraged to get out there and be back to yourself again," she added. "It’s like a floating support group, because most of the people involved are cancer survivors."
   Ms. Schonfeld said she first heard about the team through a newsletter sent by the Princeton Breast Cancer Resource Center at the Princeton YWCA and said she signed up because it sounded interesting, she loves being out on the water and she’s never really been part of a team.
   "It’s very calming and peaceful, but it’s also exciting," Ms. Schonfeld said. "Going out in that water and digging that paddle in, I feel energized and like I could almost conquer the world."
   Other Machestic Dragons racing in Australia are Misha Crosbie of Rocky Hill, Arietta Wismer of Montgomery, Fran Kelly of Pennington, Terry Coleman of Lawrence, Carol Watchler of Roosevelt and Midge Franco of Hillsborough.
   The Machestic Dragons practice Tuesday and Thursday evenings for an hour and a half, April through November, and have competed in a number of races mostly held along the east coast, including Paddle for Pink in Mercer County Park, which raised money for the Princeton Breast Cancer Resource Center.
   Abreast in Australia is being hosted by Dragons Abreast, an Australian organization. All races are being held in Caloundra, Queensland, and will run from Sept. 28 to Sept. 30.
   The Machestic Dragons is a nonprofit organization and team that is open to more than just breast-cancer survivors. Those interested in sponsoring or joining should visit www.geocities.com/machesticdragons.