Pink ladies stick their oars in for charity dragon boat race (From Thisisdorset)

Pink ladies stick their oars in for charity dragon boat race

11:30am Tuesday 26th June 2012 in News By Joanna Codd

THERE were dragons aplenty at a fundraising event organised by a charity that encourages breast cancer survivors to keep physically active and mentally positive.

Seventeen local companies and organisations each sponsored a dragon boat and they were pitted against one another at Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre in Bournemouth throughout the day.

Among those attending was entertainer Roy Castle’s widow Fiona.

She is a patron of the Pink Champagne Dragon Boat team, which was set up by breast cancer survivors to support them physically, spiritually and emotionally.

Sue Liversidge, a member of the team, said: “We actively support dragon boat racing as a positive form of exercise to help recovery.

“If they are not up to paddling when they first come, we’re more than happy to just take them out in the boat for a ride.

“Finally, and most importantly, we always have lots of fun.”

The final total raised on the day has yet to be accumulated, but Sue said everyone had a fantastic time.

She added: “We had 14 teams in the end, made up from local companies and organisations.

“They were fantastic, everybody arrived in the right spirit of the event and lots of them were in fancy dress.

“They all took part in three races and the three fastest teams went through to the final. The winning team was the A-Team, second was Ambassador Pools and third was Kelly’s Heroes.”