"I feel really passionate about Wave Walkers and love being part of the team. After my cancer treatment finished I wanted to get fit again but had lost my confidence. Becoming part of this amazing team has helped me build up my physical fitness and has given my self-confidence a real boost. Taking part in The Vogalonga (paddling over 35 kms) through Venice was like nothing I have ever done before, it was amazing. I was surrounded by my team-mates who gave me encouragement when I thought I couldn’t go on, they helped me finish. Come rain, shine or snow we get out on the water, paddling helps reduce the stresses of life. "
Deryn
Deryn
"I'm so excited that Caroline and Deryn are joining The Dragon Circle for the Great River Race. thank you to both, but thank you ALL for having welcomed Tony and I to WaveWalkers and for having given me the opportunity to learn the skills required!
You are a lovely bunch of people who we are getting to know as friends. I love Sunday mornings with you all and we'll be aiming to join you for Vogalonga next year! ...Thank you all for your encouragement!"
Karen
You are a lovely bunch of people who we are getting to know as friends. I love Sunday mornings with you all and we'll be aiming to join you for Vogalonga next year! ...Thank you all for your encouragement!"
Karen
"Dear Wavewalkers - tomorrow marks a year since I first paddled with you and I want to say something to you all. I'm not a very brave person and I nearly never made it to that first session - I turned back 3 times - but thankfully I managed to turn up! From the first hello, there was such kindness and warmth from you all that I made it back a second time and... Those first few months I couldn't manage even 10 strokes without a rest and there were definitely days when you were all paddling for me! But week by week you encouraged me, even without words - you understood my limitations and modelled your own success.
Now I can finally raise my arm up straight and my fitness level is growing all the time. I can't quite believe I've done the Vogalonga with you and tomorrow we'll race in the HK festival! What a difference this year has made to me. Being a part of the team has helped me grow stronger physically and emotionally. You have created an extremely kind, supportive and tolerant space for us all to find what we need and that is a very special and precious thing. So - a very long way of saying - Thank you all! "
Ronni
Now I can finally raise my arm up straight and my fitness level is growing all the time. I can't quite believe I've done the Vogalonga with you and tomorrow we'll race in the HK festival! What a difference this year has made to me. Being a part of the team has helped me grow stronger physically and emotionally. You have created an extremely kind, supportive and tolerant space for us all to find what we need and that is a very special and precious thing. So - a very long way of saying - Thank you all! "
Ronni
"The first time I went dragon-boating was five months after my mastectomy. I was restless and looking for something but had no idea what it was. It was not ideal – it poured with rain and I trained with the Raging Dragons. I left the water cold, wet and completely exhilarated! The team were very welcoming and it felt right. From there our team has grown and we are now Wave Walkers in our own right. The one thing that hasn’t changed is that I have never felt old, awkward, unfit, unwanted, or judged. Eddie and Ciara have provided us with a safe and secure environment that has enabled our team to grow in confidence and fitness. We support each other and encourage each other and we have a great time whilst doing it!"
Kay
Kay
"Wave Walkers is an extraordinary dragon boating team that I had the privilege of joining in the Spring of 2013. Little did I know that just over a year later we would be paddling together, down the Grand Canal in Venice, to take part in the Vogalonga, a 32km event, alongside 2000 other man-powered boats!
My friend Shelley and her husband Mark had caught the dragon boating bug, following Shelley’s treatment for breast cancer, some months earlier. It was a grateful ‘pick-me up’ as I had just lost my lovely husband to this cruel disease and therefore doing something active and collaboratively was a real boost. In fact, I could not stop talking about how much I enjoyed paddling that soon my daughter and my niece had come on board too!
The training sessions are much more than perfecting our timing and technique, they are about meeting friends old and new, sharing our news and generally feeling good about ourselves. Our amazing (and patient) trainers, Ciara and Eddie, recognise this important element of being a Wave Walker. They set up the team to provide an opportunity for cancer survivors and their families and friends to re-energise together, get fit and enjoy life! We a living proof that their inspirational idea works!
The camaraderie that exists on the boat is what got us to Venice this year! It doesn’t matter what your level of fitness is as we utilise the strength of the whole team. Members of Rage, a fighting fit dragon boat team, give up their valuable time to support us in providing that extra push on the boat as well as ‘on the spot’ training tips!
The buzz that I get from taking part in each training session is hard to describe so if you’re looking for a way of getting fit, after cancer treatment, in a fun but challenging way, then Wave Walkers is for you!"
Liza
My friend Shelley and her husband Mark had caught the dragon boating bug, following Shelley’s treatment for breast cancer, some months earlier. It was a grateful ‘pick-me up’ as I had just lost my lovely husband to this cruel disease and therefore doing something active and collaboratively was a real boost. In fact, I could not stop talking about how much I enjoyed paddling that soon my daughter and my niece had come on board too!
The training sessions are much more than perfecting our timing and technique, they are about meeting friends old and new, sharing our news and generally feeling good about ourselves. Our amazing (and patient) trainers, Ciara and Eddie, recognise this important element of being a Wave Walker. They set up the team to provide an opportunity for cancer survivors and their families and friends to re-energise together, get fit and enjoy life! We a living proof that their inspirational idea works!
The camaraderie that exists on the boat is what got us to Venice this year! It doesn’t matter what your level of fitness is as we utilise the strength of the whole team. Members of Rage, a fighting fit dragon boat team, give up their valuable time to support us in providing that extra push on the boat as well as ‘on the spot’ training tips!
The buzz that I get from taking part in each training session is hard to describe so if you’re looking for a way of getting fit, after cancer treatment, in a fun but challenging way, then Wave Walkers is for you!"
Liza
"I was diagnosed with cancer in August 2012 and it was the most frightening and difficult experience I've ever had. However along the way I've met some wonderful people and one of those-Shelley-persuaded (nagged!) me to come along to a Wave walkers training session.
To say I was apprehensive is an understatement as coordination and stamina were never my strong points. I had visions of dropping oars in water and worse. How wrong I was! That first day training with Wave Walkers was a revelation. There was a wonderful team spirit and everyone was so welcoming. The coaches Eddie and Ciara are fantastic, so encouraging and clearly know their stuff. They always consider that we all have differing levels of fitness and wellness and somehow manage to bring out the best in us all.
Going to Venice to take part in the Vogalonga was one of the most amazing and special experiences I've ever had. Paddling with my teammates-and good friends-down the Grand Canal made my heart sing and is something I'll never forget. "
Suzannah
To say I was apprehensive is an understatement as coordination and stamina were never my strong points. I had visions of dropping oars in water and worse. How wrong I was! That first day training with Wave Walkers was a revelation. There was a wonderful team spirit and everyone was so welcoming. The coaches Eddie and Ciara are fantastic, so encouraging and clearly know their stuff. They always consider that we all have differing levels of fitness and wellness and somehow manage to bring out the best in us all.
Going to Venice to take part in the Vogalonga was one of the most amazing and special experiences I've ever had. Paddling with my teammates-and good friends-down the Grand Canal made my heart sing and is something I'll never forget. "
Suzannah
"Our captain Deryn often says ‘cancer touches not just the person who has it but many lives’. Wave walkers includes those who have been ‘touched’. I have not had cancer but helped and supported my cousin through operations, chemo and beyond and also my mother- in- law who stayed with us for her last year. Wave Walkers is a healing boat. On the water I feel free and away from all that being on land involves. I love being part of this special team, it makes me feel useful and strong. I am doing something for myself but with others. The Vogalonga challenged everyone both physically and mentally. It brought out many emotions in all of us. It was a real achievement that together as a team we did. I loved every minute of it and the many memories will stay with me forever, from singing strange songs about Aussie birds to saluting with our oars going under the Rialto Bridge…I also love training with the team, our funny warm ups, all of our eccentricities bring out the best in everyone, it is fab to be part of Wave walkers. "
Wendy
Wendy
"I had issues when I first encountered Wave Walkers. I had barely been in a boat, was scared of water and very suspicious of being in a team, particularly one made up of cancer survivors. I wanted to get on with my life now that I had finished treatment. If you think that sounds harsh, I'm afraid to say it is true!
If you had told me then that a year and a half later I along with my team mates would be setting off for Venice to take part in the Vogalonga, a mass paddle involving 8000 people around the Venetian lagoon, I would have thought you were crazy.But that is exactly what I did. I went from not being able to hold a paddle to completing around 38 kilometres and having one of the best days of my life. Joining Wave Walkers really helped me do the unthinkable.
Judy
If you had told me then that a year and a half later I along with my team mates would be setting off for Venice to take part in the Vogalonga, a mass paddle involving 8000 people around the Venetian lagoon, I would have thought you were crazy.But that is exactly what I did. I went from not being able to hold a paddle to completing around 38 kilometres and having one of the best days of my life. Joining Wave Walkers really helped me do the unthinkable.
Judy
