Humbling, inspiring and emotional is how Debbie Diroff described her recent participation in the International Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Festival.
“It was overwhelming to be among so many survivors,” said Diroff.
Held every four years – this year in Florence, Italy – the festival is a vehicle to raise awareness. Participants, all breast cancer survivors and people currently battling the disease came from 17 countries. There were a total of 129 dragon boat teams and more than 5,000 people attended the festival, held July 6-8.
“Many of the women were crying as the boats took off,” said Diroff. “Seeing so many survivors was emotional, and also thinking of the many, many who didn’t survive.”
Some participants were recent survivors. Some, like Diroff, have thankfully been cancer-free for many years. The Village of Charlotte resident had breast cancer twice, in 1983 and 1986.
“Sadly, some of the participants are going through it right now,” said Diroff, part of a team out of Orlando called Warriors on Water (WOW).
Her home team is the Dragon Sisters in The Villages. She joined the group in November 2017 and by the first week of December, she was committed to go to Florence.
“I had just joined the Dragon Sisters. In fact, I was too new to participate in a race,” she said. “I had gone to Eaton’s Beach to observe a race. A woman from WOW was recruiting breast cancer survivors to participate in the festival and I signed up.”
Paddling was brand new to Diroff. It was the first time she had joined a team sport. But she thoroughly enjoys it and encourages others to give it a try.
“At our age, it is never too late to get involved in something new,” she said, adding that rowing is good for the after-effects of a mastectomy.
There are several dragon boat groups in The Villages. Diroff’s team gets out on the water at Lake Miona on Monday and Wednesday mornings.
“Rowing is hard work, but it is very rewarding,” she said, adding that participating in the International Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Festival is a lifetime achievement.
The location of the 2022 festival will be announced in early 2019.
“It is like the Olympics, cities vie to host the festival,” Diroff said. “It is the largest women’s athletic event in the world.”
To see more pictures of the festival in Florence, go to http://www.florencebcs2018.org/gallery.