Pink Phoenix™ empowers breast cancer survivors through the sport of dragon boating.
Men and women who have received a medical diagnosis of breast cancer are welcome to paddle with Pink Phoenix. Survivors come to the team for a variety of reasons - social, community involvement, inspiration, exercise, challenge and more. All breast cancer survivors are welcome, regardless of age, level of ability and experience. Physical ability is NOT a requirement for membership on the team.
Prospective members are invited to attend the annual season kick-off meeting (typically in late January or early February) to meet members, hear from coaches and learn about the practice schedule and race calendar for the year ahead. Interested survivors may also request to come to a practice and will be accommodated as space allows.
Pink Phoenix welcomes local survivors to participate in the annual Gorman Cup, an exhibition race named for our first team captain, the late Michele Gorman. Held since 1998 at the annual Rose Festival Dragon Boat Races in June, this event offers prospective members a chance to paddle or simply ride along. Guests, survivors from other teams and the Pinks fill three to four beautiful Kaohsiung dragon boats and race across the Willamette for glory and bragging rights.
For more information contact us at
membership@pinkphoenix.org
About Our Practices:
Our Dragon Boat team paddles weekly March-October, rain or shine! Remember, it's a water sport! Practices are scheduled two to three times a week depending on the season, and we have both late afternoon/early evening and weekend practices to accommodate our varied schedules.
About Our Races:
We compete in at least six races each season. Team leaders keep track of race venues world wide, and decide with board approval, which races to enter. In past years, our races have included:
May: Rainier Dragon Boat Races, Tacoma WA; Las Vegas Dragon Boat Races, Las Vegas NV
June: Rose Festival Dragon Boat Races, Portland OR; Salem World Beat Festival, Salem OR
July: Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival, Nanaimo British Columbia; Kent Cornucopia Days, Kent WA
August: Victoria Dragon Boat Festival, Victoria British Columbia; Seven Wonders Cup, Wallowa OR
September: Portland Dragon Boat Race and Montana Dragon Boat Race, Kalispell MT; San Diego Dragon Boat Races, San Diego CA
October: Row for the Cure, Portland OR
Contact us for more information.
The Pink Phoenix Story
If you have seen the Pink Phoenix™ Dragon Boat Team during the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race or at other races, you probably couldn't help but notice us; few other teams wear pink life jackets. The team is made up entirely of breast cancer survivors.
Our name is inspired by the pink ribbons worn by breast cancer survivors and from the mythical bird that consumes itself in fire and rises from its own ashes-a triumphant symbol of rebirth and renewal of human spirit, not unlike the renewed commitment to life after surviving cancer or any life threatening disease.
Pink Phoenix is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization with a volunteer board and no paid employees. Pink Phoenix is a member of DragonSports USA, the Pacific Dragon Boat Association and the International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission.
History
The team was not founded by a breast cancer survivor, but by an avid dragon boat paddler, Dorothy Atwood, who was inspired by a team of blind paddlers. In November 1996, with help from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Dorothy sent letters to all survivors who registered for that year's Race for the Cure®. Picking the 1997 team was easy - the first 29 to pay dues became the founding members.
None of the women had ever paddled before. They ranged in age from 29 to mid 60s and they were in different stages of physical fitness. For some it was the first form of exercise that sounded interesting enough to try. Some saw paddling as an exercise that would prove that they still had control over their bodies and that they could conquer this disease. Some were just finishing treatment so their physical strength was compromised. If that wasn't enough, various types of surgeries left some members with limited upper body movement. This didn't stop Dorothy. Her desire to share the sport she loved so much had her out several times a week from February through the end of summer teaching and training this new team.
The team has grown from those first 29 members to more than ninety! Pink Phoenix™ has raced in Rose Festival every year since our first appearance in 1997. In 1998, the Gorman Cup Race was added to the Rose Festival races. The race is named in memory of Pink Phoenix™ founding captain Michele Gorman, who died that spring. The Gorman Cup attracts other breast cancer survivor teams to Portland and is an exhibition race. Every year, Pink Phoenix™ invites non-paddling survivors to join us on the boat as we race across the Willamette River.
Since Pink Phoenix™ was formed, the team has raced in venues around the world. We continue to compete with our sisters around the world while sharing our enthusiasm for life and for our new found sport.
