Abreast of Bridge turns 25
Just over 25 years ago, a few local breast cancer survivors met up for lunch and decided to do something as a group after undergoing treatment.
Little did they know they would end up creating one of the largest annual events held in the city and building a legacy that has lasted a quarter of a century.
What started as a walking group of three breast cancer survivors who wanted to stay active, grew to more 15 members walking weekly around Henderson Lake and in the coulees. Then word got out about a dragon boat team in Vancouver made up entirely of breast cancer survivors. The team was under the supervision of Dr. Don McKenzie, who held the then-revolutionary belief that paddling was excellent exercise for breast cancer survivors. At the time, many believed upper body exercise could trigger the cancer to return.
The Lethbridge group were inspired by these women and decided to create their own dragon boat team. Soon the Calgary Canoe and Kayak Club donated a voyager canoe for the ladies to practice with.
With that was born the Abreast of 'Bridge dragon boat team.
Susan Giffen, a founding member of Abreast of 'Bridge recalls fondly the first few practices which were full of laughter.
'We were really an anomaly and people decided they really liked us and what we were doing, so people would come watch as we paddled and sort of laugh with us, and God there was a lot of laughter in our boat,' says Giffen.
She adds the silliness of their team really put the saying 'laughter is the best medicine' into practice.
They participated in their first dragon boat festival in Calgary in 2000, with the goal of finishing the race. They not only accomplished their goal, they also placed third amongst the breast cancer survivor teams.
When they first began, Abreast of 'Bridge recruited some daughters of survivors in order to fill the boat, which Giffen says was as special for the daughters as it was the mothers.
When coming up with a team name, the women wanted to include 'breast' in the name, as it was tradition. Being Lethbridge-based, they liked the name Abreast of 'Bridge, as one of the city's iconic symbols is the High-Level Bridge. But the name was very similar to the iconic Best of Bridge cookbooks that were popular at the time. The women wrote to the publishers of the cookbook, who were based out of Calgary, and asked if they could use the name.
Without hesitation, Best of Bridge wrote back supporting the name. Giffen says their support was touching for all members.
'They wrote back to us on their special paper and said, 'go for it,' evidentially a couple of their members were breast cancer survivors, so they thought it was a great idea to call ourselves Abreast of 'Bridge.'
For the next couple of years, the women continued to practice on their voyager canoe, which was much higher up than a dragon boat, and competed across the province and even in B.C.
Then a Rotary member in Lethbridge saw Diane Randell, another founding member of Abreast of 'Bridge, in a shirt that said Rotary Dragon Boat Festival of Stratford and asked her about it. Before they knew it, the local Rotary clubs gathered the troops to hold a fundraiser to help the women raise money for their own dragon boat. The evening raised enough money that they were able to buy two teak dragon boats that were formally used in Calgary.
The fundraiser sparked something in Randell as she realized, if Rotary could raise funds for two boats, why couldn't they create a full-on festival?
It wasn't long before the first Lethbridge Dragon Boat Festival was put on in 2002, despite some naysayers who thought the city was too windy and it wouldn't be possible to get the volunteers needed. Randell says the doubters pushed her to prove them wrong.
'You never say 'you can't do this' to a Rotarian and a strong-willed woman.'
A new Rotary club was created and with the help of the other two clubs, the first dragon boat festival at Henderson Lake drew 17 teams, including teams from Calgary. Even the local firefighters and police got involved.
Today the event has supported 84 teams and is well known across the country, as it has become the race that kicks off the dragon boat season.
Randell says the event could not be what it is without the the breast cancer teams, who continue to support the event each year.
She adds that the event's success is overwhelming but it has taught her the importance of community.
'It has taught me that when you've got a few people that are committed to doing something different, that it can happen in community.'
She credits her positive attitude and surrounding herself with positive people is the reason she is still here.
In 2001, Abreast of 'Bridge was awarded with the YWCA Women of Distinction Award.
Giffen paddled for 11 years, until she physically wasn't able to do it anymore. And while Randell only paddled for a few years, she spent many more on the planning committee. While oth have moved on, they are incredibly proud of what they have created.
The annual ATB Financial Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival is set to take place June 27-29.
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