'Tears were flowing': Rowbust Dragonboat Festival honours women who recently passed from breast cancer
It was an emotional day on the water.
“There were a lot of hugs, and support as well as remembering,” says Pat Wocks, a member of the Rowbust Dragonboat Team.
Tears were flowing at Fanshawe Lake as the Rowbust drag boat team held a flower ceremony to honour those who have passed due to Breast cancer.
They included two of their own who passed away a day apart in late May.
“The last two weeks have been really, really hard for us and we lost our coach the last two weeks and a teammate so you know it's bittersweet,” says Linda Kuska, Rowbust captain.
Bev Jorgensen joined Rowbust in 2018 and was described as someone with an intense work ethic and love for fitness.
Members of Rowbust Dragonboat Team throw flowers in Fanshawe Lake as part of a ceremony to honour teammates who recently passed away in London, Ont. on Saturday, June 10 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
Coach Sarah Shelland was a world champion, but to Rowbust, she was family.
She joined the team as a coach with partner Cheryl McLachlan.
“After a year long battle with a terminal illness Osteosarcoma, we had the 24-hour surgery at Mount Sinai, came out well the doctor was pleased but Sarah’s body was angry and it was her time,” says McLachlan.
Saturday’s 10th annual event had 48 community teams, 1,200 participants and nearly 1,000 spectators.
Over the past decade this festival has raised over $100,000 for the breast cancer patient fund and regional cancer program at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
The annual Rowbust Dragonboat Festival has raised over $100,00 for breast cancer in London, Ont. on Saturday, June 10, 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
“That helps with wigs, transportation, childcare, medications, prosthesis and things that people out local community can’t afford” says Kuska.
While the emotions were fresh, these women pushed on like they’ve done many times before over the years.
“This is the hardest one I’ll ever do,” says McLachlan.
“We’ll feel Sarah and Bev on the water. It’s difficult but they wouldn’t have it any other way.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.