The Ladies of Dragon Boating

At the beginning, it was a professor named Dr. Don McKenzie in the Department of Sports Medicine at the University of British Columbia who began to challenge the prevailing medical ideas that breast cancer patients should avoid strenuous activity–even knitting–due to increased risk of Lymphedema.

Dr. McKenzie identified dragon boating as the optimal sport to challenge this view because of the strenuous upper-body motion required to propel a boat. In 1996, he recruited twenty-two volunteers, and after three months of clinical success in a gym, organized the first-ever all-survivor dragon boat crew out of Vancouver, Canada. From then on, the paradigm about exercise and breast cancer treatment began to shift worldwide.

Twenty-one years later, in 2017, the Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel were formed: a dragon boating team of breast cancer survivors, for breast cancer survivors.

From Millvale to New Zealand to Florence, the Hearts of Steel represent Pittsburgh at major IBCPC regattas across the globe, as well as national regattas in Kentucky, New York, and New Jersey.

Stroke for stroke, the ladies stay in time with the global movement.

Most recently, the Hearts of Steel competed in and hosted the Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Festival at North Park Lake. Janice Bagnato, one of the team’s founding members, shares her in-the-boat recollections from the successful day on the Lake.

“I think this event was so successful because the team has grown with the event. We have been much more organized as far as planning on the day, and days ahead of the event, with practices for all the teams.”

The organizers coordinated thirty-four teams, food trucks, thirty-four tents, vendors, porta-potties, and invited the beloved DJ Steve Matthews Jr. “He brings an energy that is just phenomenal to the event,” Janice shares. “He is near and dear to our hearts.”

Janice tells of how she found dragon boating, explaining that “It took me a year and a half after my second diagnosis to find the sport . . . I was depressed and sad and lonely, and fearing for my life . . . this gave me an opportunity to fulfill the need to practice and get physically healthy"

"It was a support group I didn’t know I needed.”

While a major priority of the club is to support each other through the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer, the ladies of dragon boating are very careful to explain they are here to win races. “When we paddle to a starting line, our mindset is on the race and how to give it the best coordinated effort for a win.”

Footage provided by ACE Drones

There were some amazing photo finishes on North Park Lake this year, and emotions ran high. “We have some drone footage that the drone people, Ace Drones, did for us. It brought me to tears.”

Janice sees dragon boating as a unique activity that aligns with Pittsburgh’s character. She thinks the sport has big potential moving forward. “I’m so proud to be part of such a huge event that brings awareness and also camaraderie within the community together for a great cause. It is something I never anticipated. You don’t plan on these things in life.”

A big thank you from Three Rivers Rowing Association to the Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel for staying strong and staying together! Thank you, also, to the volunteers, support teams, sponsors, paramedics, and photographers for your time and generosity.

Visit www.heartsofsteelpittsburgh.org for more information. Or contact info@heartsofsteelpittsburgh.org to see how you can join the team or support the team as a non-paddler.

The Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel practice out of the Millvale Boathouse and are partnered with Three Rivers Rowing Association to increase safe access to Pittsburgh’s waterways for water-based sports.