Sue's Abreast of Life team came 3rd and 4th in Lake Karapiro over the weekend

With over 30 teams competing, Sue, who teaches in Tuakana, competed in her team, Abreast of Life (ABOL), made up of 22 women who have had breast cancer. This is her story from the weekend:

The first day of racing saw us compete in the 500m race with both a 20 and a 10 man crew. We came 4th in each of those, very close to getting a medal but not quite making it. The second day of racing we came 3rd in the 200m race in the 20 man boat, finally getting a medal for all of our efforts. We came 4th again in the 10 man for the 200m, but for the 2000m race in the afternoon we managed to come 2nd, only 7 seconds behind first place in an 11 minute race. 

It was an amazing few days, with a dinner for all the breast cancer teams, including a speaker, Emily Searle, who wrote the book "Dear Boobs" which are letters from breast cancer survivors. There was also a flower ceremony after the 500m final to remember all those who have lost the battle with cancer. The friendship and bond between all these women in the teams is amazing. 

The whole event was amazing, with all of the teams supporting each other, and some fierce, exciting competition, including a 4 boat pile up in the men's 2km race and a few close calls in our races as well. If anyone has had breast cancer (male or female) and wants to be part of this dragonboat team I would highly recommend it - they are always recruiting, as we need a team of about 30.

I'd like to thank Haeata for giving me the time to go to Nationals, it was great to compete at that level and represent Canterbury in the Abreast of Life (ABOL) team. Looking forward to getting fitter and stronger over winter, ready for another season starting in October.

Sue McLachlan