Pink Dragon Ladies are back on the Hillsborough!

Our team has added lots of new and enthusiastic members since our last full season, way back in 2019. On February 12, veteran paddlers and new members practiced together for the first time this year.

Member Contributions

Volunteers, coaches, and board members do so much to keep our organization vital. Please remember that boats, equipment, docks, storage, and race registration have fixed costs. We suggest that members donate $10 monthly to keep us “above water.” If you can donate quarterly ($30) or annually ($120), it will save on labor and processing. Of course, any additional gifts are welcomed with gratitude. Click here to give to the Pinks.

Team Calendar

• Practices will continue on Saturday mornings at 7:00 AM and Tuesday evenings at 6:00 PM.

• Connie Bainbridge offers an amazing - FREE - Exercise Class via Zoom, designed specifically for paddlers.

  • Sunday – log in at 8:45 AM – Class starts at 9:00 AM

  • Thursday – log in at 6:45 PM – Class starts at 7:00 AM

  • Sign up on TeamSnap, or join the “PDL Fitness for Paddlers” group on Facebook for tips and links to recorded classes.

• March 5 and 6 -- Pat Bradley Mini-Camp: The Coach of the USA Senior Dragon Boat Team will help us build skills for the race season ahead!

  • Saturday, March 5, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

  • Sunday, March 6, 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM

  • Bring a pen and notepad, paddle, seat pad, PFD, cellphone to record your 1-on-1 instructions, a change of clothes, and your smiling enthusiasm!

• Saturday, March 19, 7:30 PM –TB Rowdies Dragon Boat Night

  Al Lang Stadium, 230 1st St SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Buy tickets here!

• Saturday, April 2 – First race of the season!

  Inverness, Wallace Brook Park,

  208 N Mill Ave, Inverness, FL 34450

• Sunday, April 10, 5:00 PM, Sunday – Tampa Bay Lightning Game

  Amalie Arena, 401 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602 (Contact Karen Hackel for tickets)

• Saturday, April 30 – Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Festival

  Rocky Point – Bahama Breeze Rocky Point Lagoon

  More race updates and community events will be announced in our next newsletter.

Warm Up Before You Paddle!

Research shows that warming up before athletics can improve performance and prevent injury, especially helpful for shoulder problems common to paddlers. Connie Bainbridge shared this video by Dr. Kelly Starrett, full of great information and shoulder warm-up exercises to optimize mobility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW69bWxRxuQ

IBCPC News

The International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission has 262 member teams across 32 countries and 6 continents. There are about 10,000 individual paddlers worldwide. Here is a link for the next International Festival, planned for April 2023 in New Zealand. As pandemic concerns and travel restrictions continue to change, we hope to be among the participants. Currently, the Pinks have two boats registered for New Zealand. We await further instructions from the festival organizers.

Pinks Rock GMF

Thanks to the volunteers who worked hard selling beverages at the 2022 Gasparilla Music Festival. The Pink Dragon Ladies brought in record-smashing donations at this year’s event. How grateful we are for (alphabetically) Bunjee, Debbie, Dee, Edna, Julie, Kathy, Leigh, Lisa, Lorraine, Meagan, Pam, Pamm, Paul, Radica, Sarah, Steffanie, Terika, and Tessie, who all know how to play hard too!

Dunedin DAR Hosts Team Survivor

Support from the greater Tampa Bay Community gives deeper meaning to everything we do as a team. On February 21, the Dunedin Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) hosted several team members for a luncheon and meeting. They learned all about Dragon Boating, especially about how Breast Cancer Survivor (BCS) teams create supportive communities for wellness and sisterhood.

The Pinks in attendance also learned a lot, as DAR members shared knowledge of local history. A wonderful photographic slide show, courtesy of Kathleen Cabble, told the PDL’s story eloquently. We are grateful for their invitation, and for their generous donation to Team Survivor Tampa Bay.

Many thanks to Edna Taylor for planning the event, and to volunteers Anita, Bunjee, Debbie, Dee, Deena, Helen, Kathy, Kay, Ruth, and Wendy.

Member Profile: Pamm Anderson

What have the Pinks meant to you?

The Pinks have inspired me so much. We are all survivors and many of us qualify for AARP - yet we paddle, and compete, and dress up in funny outfits, and sing, and dance, and travel, and play, and try all kinds of new things. We are all different but united by our diagnosis. Though I wouldn't wish breast cancer on anyone, maybe it has taught (reminded) many of us how to live!

Tell us something we don't know about you.

I got certified as a yoga instructor after physical therapy and occupational therapy didn't help my injury.

What have you learned on your cancer and dragon boat journey?

I have learned that we are stronger than we think...that life and dragon boating are better when we work together...that age is just a number because I know some 30-year-old “old ladies” and some 80-year-old “wild things”...that one way to appreciate the beauty of life is to wonder if you will have another tomorrow...

What advice would you give other survivors?

Say "yes" when others offer to help and you need that help. I used to think it was better to be independent, that accepting help was a sign of weakness. When I was in treatment I had 3 small children and no choice but to accept help. I thought that there never would be a way to pay everyone back for all the kindness, and was surprised when most just reminded me to pass it on to someone else in need when I was stronger. It has not only given me so much gratitude, but I have spent the last 21 years trying to pay back that debt. We NEED each other and life is so much better when we are here to support each other.