Traditional Chinese sport enjoys growing status in South America, especially among cancer survivors

The traditional Chinese sport of dragon boat racing has swept across Latin America over the last decade.

It has spread from one country to another, becoming increasingly competitive, spawning social teams, driving teamwork, inspiring the healing of cancer survivors, and fostering deep and strong links with China.

Popular with sports enthusiasts and amateurs, corporate and social teams promote camaraderie, teamwork, and cultural exchanges.

“It’s a sport where coordination and teamwork truly bring everyone together, working as one, without one person standing out more than another,” said Sergio Maximiliano Bracco, an Argentine dentist and avid dragon boat paddler.

Bracco, 51, is fascinated by the inclusive nature of a sport that allows women, men, people with disabilities, and the fit and not so fit, to work together with a single purpose.

“I was amazed to see at the last (Paradragons) World Championship amputees, paraplegics, and especially blind athletes — even though they lack one of the senses — competing and coordinating their paddling perfectly in boats with 12 and 22 paddlers, even though they lack one of the senses,” Bracco told China Daily.

The International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) holds a separate Paradragons category for paddlers with some form of physical impairment during the Dragon Boat World Championship. The last championship was held in Thailand in 2023 and the next one will be staged in Germany in 2025.

Bracco has competed in the sport since 2019, when the Argentine Dragon Boat Association, the country’s official organizer of dragon boat races, was formed. A friend who was interested in Chinese culture spurred his participation.

“We used to row together in Puerto Madero, and one day we saw a sign inviting us to try out this ‘new’ sport. We went, and that’s where it all began,” said Bracco.

Last year, Bracco participated in the 16th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. He also competed in this year’s 14th IDBF Dragon Boat Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy.

“The sport is just beginning to grow in Argentina. Together as an association and paddlers, we are learning and evolving side by side,” said Bracco.

Dragon boat racing started in ancient China more than 2,000 years ago. It is traditionally linked to the legend of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet and statesman from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

According to legend, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River to protest corruption. Locals rushed to the river in long boats but were too late to save him. They beat drums and splashed their paddles in the water to honor Qu’s memory and ward off evil spirits. That tradition evolved into modern dragon boat racing.

Today, the sport is commemorated annually during the Dragon Boat Festival — on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar — in late May or early June.

Dragon boats are long, narrow, and adorned with intricate designs. Teams of paddlers, along with a drummer to set the rhythm and a person to steer, race over a set distance.

Along with the drummer and helmsman, standard boats have 18 to 20 paddlers and smaller boats have eight to 10.

Competitive modern dragon boat racing began in the late 20th century, with the first international dragon boat races organized in Hong Kong in 1976.

The IDBF was formed in 1991. Since then, dragon boat racing has spread worldwide with major competitions in Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

The IDBF estimates that more than 50 million participate in races in China alone.

Worldwide there are over 300,000 paddlers in the UK and Europe, 90,000 in Canada and the US, and hundreds of thousands spread across Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.

The vigorous sport quickly has attracted avid paddlers looking to stay fit. But somewhat unexpectedly it has also attracted enthusiasts who have discovered its significant healing benefits. This is particularly true among women recovering from breast cancer.

While team training is demanding, dragon boat groups have helped breast cancer survivors thrive — overcoming not just cancer but any doubts about their capabilities on the water.

This was the goal of Floribeth Campos de Finizio, president of Pink Warriors Panama, when she started the dragon boat team with 14 members five years ago.

Originally formed to inspire survivors to “move forward after cancer”, Pink Warriors Panama has grown to a 40-member team.

“Many of the women who row today had never done sports before, so this is a great achievement for a group like ours,” de Finizio told China Daily. “We are incredibly proud of everything we’ve achieved. We proved that it’s possible to become athletes after cancer.”

A growing pool of academic research has shown that dragon boat racing can make a significant difference in helping survivors who have undergone breast cancer treatment or surgery to recover.

Research pioneered by Don McKenzie at Canada’s University of British Columbia in 1996 found paddling helps cancer survivors avoid painful swelling caused by lymph node removal.

Inspired by McKenzie’s work and subsequent research, “pink boat” events have sprouted across Latin America. Teams promote the fitness and team-building benefits of joining a dragon boat team while spreading the word about its health benefits.

Pink Warriors Panama began when an Argentine team asked de Finizio to search for other breast cancer survivors in Panama to join their team.

The Chinese-Panamanian Association was already hosting dragon boat races in Panama at the time, but there was no cancer survivor category.

So, de Finizio set out to start one while building a nonprofit organization to promote the sport.

“Our goal is to promote dragon boat paddling among cancer survivors as a sport that supports physical and emotional recovery. Paddling aids physical rehabilitation after mastectomy or breast cancer diagnosis,” said de Finizio, who is also the president of Pink Warriors Panama’s nonprofit board.

“Equally important, though, it offers psychological benefits. Being part of a team and community always seems to help people move forward in their cancer journey.”

According to the International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission, there are now more than 260 breast cancer paddling teams across 33 countries.

Pink Warriors Panama has competed worldwide, from the idyllic mountain town of Bariloche in Argentina to Brazil, the Bahamas, and Miami in the United States.

A team delegation attended the World Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Championship in New Zealand and Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, ranking fifth in the 200-meter race — their strongest event.

“We also aim to inspire others. That is truly our goal,” de Finizio said.

Dragon boat racing was already well-established in Brazil and Panama before pink boat events began spreading and further boosted the sport’s popularity.

It is particularly popular in Argentina, where the sport first arrived in 2014. Over the past 10 years, it has gained significant traction.

Maria Bolatti, a 65-year-old doctor, is now an avid paddler, having been introduced to the sport through a breast cancer survivors’ team.

In La Plata, a city near Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, Bolatti helped start a 10-member group called Dragones Rosas La Plata (La Plata Pink Dragons).

As membership grew, the team started training in various locations around the city.

Team members used kayaks and canoes to train until they received their first dragon boat five years ago.

The team members wear pink life vests and exercise at the Plaza Malvinas Argentinas park before getting on the water. Each member plays a role in preparing the boat, from attaching the dragon head to setting up the vital drum.

“I haven’t stopped practicing this sport since 2019,” Bolatti told China Daily.

Annual Lunar New Year celebrations in Buenos Aires now feature dragon boat races along the Puerto Madero riverfront, showcasing local teams and drawing large crowds.

In 2023, Argentina’s national team debuted at the World Championships in Thailand. Silvia Caruso served as the team’s helmswoman, a role involving steering the boat and communicating with the crew.

Caruso’s own experience with dragon boating has also evolved.

She aims to grow her Guardianas Rosas (Pink Guardians) team, which is made up solely of women diagnosed with breast cancer.

“The uniqueness of this team is that it is made up of women diagnosed with breast cancer. It is a great commitment. Beyond the physical exercise, it is highly beneficial for the recovery from the disease,” Caruso said.

“We want to raise awareness about the benefits of practicing this sport and to promote early detection and care of the disease. We need the entire community’s support to continue this project.

“You work your entire body — strength training, endurance and, most importantly, you work as a team. Coordination is necessary. Everyone has a role. We are all important.”

The author is a freelance journalist for China Daily.