“We dedicate this page as a to our team members who have died but live on in our hearts. This space for represents our shared journey of hope and healing.”
The loss of a teammate is deeply felt on a boat of twenty. In the dragon boat community, we honor our departed sisters through the flower ceremony. At the end of a race day, teams gather on the water, throw pink carnations into the current, and share a moment of silence.
This ritual reminds us why we paddle. We paddle for those who can no longer hold an oar. Their spirit is the extra push we feel during the final 100 meters of a race. They are the wind on Puslinch Lake and the steady rhythm of our hearts.
“I feel as though I’ve had another little reprieve. I’m still in the forest and I know there is only one way out. I haven’t found another little clearing but maybe I’ve found a little grassy path with some flowers growing at the side and with some sun flickering through the trees.”
— Margaret Brewer, September 2004
