Bei Loon Pinks Dragon Boat Team

Bei Loon are breast cancer survivors who focus on thriving, not just surviving. We welcome others to join us to try dragon boat paddling at Bayview on beautiful Pittwater in Sydney’s north. Team members typically come from the northern beaches (Manly to Palm Beach) and the northern suburbs (Chatswood to Hornsby) of Sydney.

We are part of the Bei Loon Dragon Boat Club. ‘Bei Loon’ means northern dragon, and the club was established in 2003. The Bei Loon Pinks formed (as the Pittwater Pinks) in 2004 with the aim of providing exercise and support for people with or recovering from breast cancer.
There is a place for you with the Bei Loon Pinks if you are a breast cancer survivor.

We don’t dwell on our cancer experiences, but we understand what it’s like to receive diagnoses and undergo breast cancer treatment. Some of us live with longer-term effects of breast cancer and its treatment, so we’ve got a handle on that too. We’ll listen, but never judge. We never offer medical advice but we can provide friendly support and understanding.

Many of us either haven’t been involved in group sports before, or participation may have been decades ago. It doesn’t take long to catch the dragon boating bug, improve fitness and make new friends. We come from a diverse range of backgrounds and life experiences. Our regular Pinks training session is on Sunday morning.

After training many of us meet in the park near Rowland Reserve for coffee and a chat. We train year-round, but how often you want to paddle is up to you. If you choose to become a competitive paddler, you can train up to four times each week in summer, or three times per week in winter if you wish. We aim to compete as a team at regattas over the summer months. Our club hosts the well-known Scotland Island race each summer – an 8 km race that is lots of fun. We also let loose socialising off water such as movie nights, picnics, walks and cultural events.

We are very proud that our team includes members who have been with the team since it began and that many have competed at the highest levels of dragon boating at local, state and international events.