Canadians love to help others by doing volunteer work. Seniors work in hospitals, they drive cancer patients, they distribute food, there is almost no end.
Sometimes, the task to collect money for charitable organizations is combined with fun. This brief web site shows how money was collected for the fight against breast cancer by organizing a dragon boat race in St. Catharines.
Neither Elizabeth nor most of her friends have ever used a dragon boat. For that reason some training with basic instructions were required.
As a guest we had a young Swiss student in our house who joined also without having any problems. She enjoyed it also very much.
If you never have visited a dragon boat regatta, this site will give you a small impression. Just check local papers or ask in any tourist office where such an event takes place if you are interested.

For the training the decorative dragon heads and tails were removed from the boats to prevent any damage.
There were also no drummers in the boats.
Naturally, a fee had to be paid for the use of the expensive boats. A sponsor paid for that and after the real race was over, we all were invited into his house for a party. His wife was also a volunteer rower.
We all had a good time and Elizabeth volunteered in more dragon boat regattas.
Unfortunately, so far she did not have a chance in 2009.
Kayaking became another favorite of hers. We both participated in a basic course and she loved it - even when she was shivering because it was a little bit cool on the water. For me the heavy plastic boat was a surprise. As a teenager I owned a light weight wooden kayak which flipped over when you did not know what you were doing.

Rowing, especially in a dragon boat is very popular in Canada. When Elizabeth, my wife, has been asked by her colleagues if she would be willing to participate in such a race, she was immediately excited.
Dragon boats came originally from China. They have a dragon head and a dragon tail which are removed for training runs. They are nicely painted.
During the actual race a drummer sits in the bow of each boat and sets the pace for the paddlers or rowers. This is also a help to synchronize their efforts.
Naturally, the course of the boat has to be controlled. For that reason a steer person stands in the back of the boat. A long oar is used to do this important task.
Two rowers sit always side by side.
For this event the most essential task was to collect as much money as possible to support the fight against breast cancer. But still every team gave their best to win.

For our Swiss student the regatta added some flavor of Ontario to her stay. It was easy for Elizabeth to get her into the team.
If you are visitor and want to participate actively in such an event - just ask. Otherwise just come and have a great day!

A dragon head:

No wonder that many of the volunteers were exhausted after the race. It was very hot and many of them were not in the greatest shape.