Dragon boating, a traditional Chinese sport, started in Australia to support those recovering from breast cancer.

Since then it has since developed into a highly social and active sport suitable for all ages and backgrounds. Cancer survivors still hold a special place in all dragon boating activities.

We paddle regularly from either the Sale Canal boat ramp & jetty or Lake Guthridge, and paddle down the Sale Canal onto the Thomson River, sometimes as far as the Swing Bridge, and enjoy spotting a koala or pelican as we pass indigenous scar trees along the way. Our teamwork is important, and we love taking a team to other events around Victoria.

Our Logo - The Chinese Dragon has been an important part of Chinese culture for over 2000 years and is representative of many qualities including strength, vitality, spirit, loyalty, honour and food. The dragon also symbolises power and excellence, courage and boldness, heroism and perseverance, nobility and divinity. A dragon overcomes obstacles until success is his. He is energetic, decisive, optimistic, intelligent and ambitious.

In our club our members strive to emulate these qualities as we paddle and in our interactions with others- and enjoy and appreciate the food!

The Gippsland Water Dragon is indigenous to Eastern Victoria. Our club colors were inspired by the Gippsland Water Dragon.

What is Dragon Boating?

Dragon Boat racing has a significantly rich history, with traditional boating in Southern China for over 2000 years.

The Dragon. In Chinese culture, the classic Dragon (or “Loong”) rides the clouds in the sky and commands the wind, mist and rain. The Chinese dragon is made up of many different types of animals on Earth. The dragon is said to have the head of a camel, 117 fish scales of the carp, deer horns, rabbit eyes, ears of a bull, the neck of a snake, stomach of a clam, paws of a tiger, and claws like an eagle.

The dragon symbolizes power and excellence, courage and boldness, heroism and perseverance, nobility and divinity. A dragon overcomes obstacles until success is his. He is energetic, decisive, optimistic, intelligent and ambitious.

The Dragon Boat. Originally Dragon Boat was used for religious purposes as a way to appease the rain gods. Each boat has an ornately carved dragon’s head at the bow and a tail in the stern. The boat is painted with scales. The paddles symbolically represent the dragon’s claws, the drum represents the heart. .

The Dragon Boat Festival. The traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (also known as Tuen Ng, Duanwu, Double Fifth, Dumpling Festival or Poet’s Day) is held on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month (varying from late May to middle June). It is celebrated not only as a festival but also a public holiday in the People's Republic of China.

The fifth Chinese lunar month is traditionally considered a month of death and disease, evil and darkness, due to the high summer temperatures in China. Therefore, venerating the awakening Dragon was meant to avert misfortune and encourage rainfall, needed for the fertility of crops and prosperity of the people. This annual celebration is meant to protect the people from evil & disease for the rest of the year.

Dragons Abreast Australia  Donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation

Breast cancer survivors' dragon boating is now an international movement inspired by the research of Canadian sports medicine specialist Don McKenzie. Survivors of breast cancer join together to paddle dragon boats to the benefit of their physical health and social wellbeing. Don McKenzie believed that this activity would benefit breast cancer survivors as it provided strenuous upper body activity in an aesthetically pleasing and socially supportive environment. It is an approach to promoting health and raising breast cancer awareness that is driven by women surviving the disease. It reaches out to other women and offers them a message of hope and support. It is helping to change attitudes toward "life after breast cancer," and it encourages women to lead full and active lives. It is making a difference.

Dragon boat racing for breast cancer survivors was introduced to Australia by Michelle Hanton OAM originating in Darwin in 1998. Dragons Abreast Australia head office is based in Brisbane in Queensland and is a registered charity. Dragons Abreast Australia Ltd (DAA) has grown into the peak body for breast cancer survivor paddling groups around Australia and is a member of the Australian Dragon Boat Federation and the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission. Members adopt a set of common guiding principles and adhere to the philosophy of participation and inclusiveness.