Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley and members of the City Council will recognize the Annapolis Dragon Boat Club during the Council Session on June 18th, 2018, as the Club prepares to launch into their first European competition.
The Club is being recognized as the only dragon boat team in Maryland attending the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission (IBCPC) Dragon Boat Festival in Florence, Italy this July. All crews are made up entirely of breast cancer survivors, with more than 3,000 athletes competing. The Annapolis Dragon Boat Club will participate along with 129 teams from 17 countries during the four-day event. The IBCPC festival is potentially the largest gathering of athletes for a single athletic event this year, including the Winter Olympics.
“It means so much to us to have the support of the City, and to bring their goodwill with us to Florence,” Annapolis Dragon Boat Club Chair, Louise Kirk, said. “We’ll be sharing it with paddlers from all over the globe and I can’t think of a better send-off than this as we prepare to take on the world.”
This will be the second IBCPC International Festival for the Club. In 2014 they traveled to Sarasota, FL, marking the first time that the event was held in the United States. The team trains year-round to compete in numerous dragon boat competitions held up and down the east coast during the Summer and early Fall.
The mission of the Annapolis Dragon Boat Club is to promote the development of healthy bodies and spirits for men and women, to support recovery from breast cancer and all other cancers, and to grow friendships and teamwork. The Club promotes and develops the sport of dragon boating as a means of building physical strength, endurance and confidence with emphasis on recreation, synchrony, and harmony while on the water… the beautiful Spa Creek of Annapolis.
For further information visit the ADBC web site: http://annapolisdragonboatclub.org.
