Joey Payeur
With a new name, two recently-forged partnerships, a more concentrated cross-border initiative, and an opportunity to host a unique event on the horizon, the International Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Club is breathing some serious fire these days.
For instance, the club finalized negotiations over the weekend to bring the FMG Ice Dragon Challenge here next January or February.
That would make Fort Frances one of only four places in North America to host the event, joining Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon.
“The boats seat 10 with a steers [as opposed to 16 in a normal-sized dragon boat],” noted International Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Foundation board secretary Annely Armstrong-Thorstad, who also is the club’s head team coach.
“They have dragon heads that look like they have flaming heads and we run them at night,” she added.
“They bring fire pits and everyone is encouraged to wear glow sticks.
“It’s a big deal for us, but it is mostly uncharted waters as the event is so new to North America,” Armstrong-Thorstad admitted.
“Teams are smaller and people would be willing to come from farther, not only to participate but to observe,” she predicted.
“We are hoping some of the folks want to come back in the summer for our festival, as well.”
As well, the club recently announced it has been endorsed by the Canadian Cancer Society’s breast cancer cause.
All teams that register for the club’s sixth-annual festival–set for Saturday, July 8–will be provided with a link to raise funds and collect pledges for the fight against breast cancer.
“Dragon Boat has a long history with breast cancer survivors,” said Armstrong-Thorstad.
“Each one of us on the board has been touched in some way [by cancer], as have most people,” she noted.
“We wanted to be able to carry on this tradition through our festival.”
Armstrong-Thorstad submitted a proposal to the Canadian Cancer Society late last year, which led to a most welcome call Feb. 9 from society administrator Kelly Ziglar.
“First, she informs me that the Canadian Cancer Society and the Breast Cancer Society have merged,” Armstrong-Thorstad explained.
“I thought at that point she was going to ask me to resubmit, but she said she couldn’t have been more excited to read it over and they would be very happy to accept it.
“This is going to be a long-term relationship,” she enthused.
In honour of the new collaboration, Armstrong-Thorstad said the club’s board of directors recently voted to waive the $650 entry fee for all breast cancer survivor teams wanting to participate in this year’s festival.
“These teams do a lot of fundraising and work so hard to promote awareness, we just felt that it was something we had to do,” she reasoned.
Armstrong-Thorstad said the club originally had planned to initiate the flower ceremony–held as a tribute to cancer survivors and those lost to cancer–in conjunction with the plan to start raising money for the fight against breast cancer this year.
But with the club having to move the festival to September last year after a powerful storm forced its postponement back in June, that gave the club the chance to begin the fundraising venture at that point.
The venture also hits home in another way for the club as Scott Walker of Winnipeg-based FMG, which did the timing and officiating for last year’s festival, currently is going through cancer treatments himself.
That fact, combined with the company’s busy schedule that sees it already booked at another festival in Saskatchewan close to the same date as the one here, also has opened up another avenue of co-operation.
“We reached out to the Thunder Bay dragon boat club to come and assist us instead,” Armstrong-Thorstad noted.
“It is a partnership that would allow our clubs to assist each other with festival staffing needs, including certified officials, coaches, and steerspeople,” she said.
“They will be bringing at least one more boat with them for our festival.”
Additionally, the Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Foundation recently was incorporated as a non-profit organization in the U.S., prompting an official name change for both the foundation and the club.
“It truly makes it an international foundation and club,” said Armstrong-Thorstad.
“This means, along with the access to more boats and equipment through Thunder Bay, we are now closing in on the final preparations to launching boats from both sides of the border,” she remarked.
“Once we get through this year’s festival, we will begin grant-writing and fundraising on the U.S. side of the border for the needed extra equipment like boats, paddles, life jackets, and a click-lock removable floating dock.”
For more information on the club, visit its Facebook page at Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Club or e-mail dragonboatff@gmail.com
