Del – DA Moreton Bay (Pink Snapdragons) Posted on: 15 August 2025

Del’s journey from a passionate educator to an accomplished dragon boat sweep is a testament to the power of resilience, reinvention, and community. Her life embodies the spirit of Connect. Move. Live., a motto that perfectly frames her story of transformation and triumph.

Connect

Del began her career as a teacher in New South Wales in the 1970s, driven by a deep love of learning and shaping young minds. In 2000, she relocated to Brisbane to teach in Caboolture. It was challenging, exhausting work—until a breast cancer diagnosis in 2004 abruptly changed her life’s course.

But in Del’s words, “Breast cancer changed my life for the better.” Through adversity, she found a new community and a fresh connection to life—on the water.

Move

After a gruelling year of treatment, Del was seeking a way to regain strength. Dragon boating caught her attention—it was exercise while sitting down, after all. However, two injured shoulders made paddling difficult, so she gave sweeping a try. It was a perfect fit. “It was like sailing without adjusting for the wind—I loved it.”

From there, the movement never stopped. Del’s sweeping debut was nothing short of adventurous—steering a team of Italian pink paddlers in Singapore, unaccredited but confident. Within hours of returning to Brisbane, she completed her sweep accreditation on the busy Brisbane River. Since then, she’s swept in countless regattas across Queensland, Australia, and internationally—from Penang to Canada, from Hong Kong to Italy.

Each race was not just about winning, but moving forward—physically, emotionally, and personally.

Live

Now a retired teacher and proud grandmother, Del continues to live life to the fullest. Her dragon boating journey has brought her countless friendships, a mountain of medals, and memories from all over the world. As a sweep, she’s become known for her spirited calls from the back of the boat—what she calls “encouraging requests” that sound suspiciously like powerful commands:

“Power! We can do this! Come on—only 50 metres to go! Power, power, power!”

To Del, it’s more than a sport—it’s a way to live. To take the energy of recovery, the strength of a team, the thrill of competition, and the joy of exploration and turn it into a life richly paddled.

Her gratitude is wide-reaching—to paddlers, fellow sweeps, drummers, coaches, and the entire dragon boating family that made her journey possible.