SARASOTA, FL – After taking fourth-place honors in an international dragon boat competition for breast cancer survivors, Survivors In Sync paddlers were recognized by the Sarasota County Commission during its meeting in late August. Survivors In Sync (SIS) finished fourth out of 125 teams in the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission (IBCPC) Dragon Boat Festival, which drew thousands to Florence, Italy, in July. The team earned its impressive position in the standings by posting its best-ever time, 2:22:00, in the final, 500-meter race.
SIS is a breast cancer survivor dragon boat wellness program that incorporates physical and emotional well-being. The team practices three times per week at Nathan Benderson Park (NBP) and races competitively at local, national and international venues. SIS is one of two dragon boat community team programs offered at NBP by the park’s administrator, Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates (SANCA).
“It’s a huge honor to have this recognition for our efforts and dedication to becoming a top team in the world,” said Angela Long, who founded and coaches SIS. “We appreciate all the support we’ve received from SANCA and this community to achieve this goal. We are especially grateful for those who sponsored our travels to Italy as well as the friends and area residents who flooded our Facebook page with messages of love and encouragement as we competed.”
IBCPC’s international festival draws thousands of breast cancer survivors from around the world to paddle, network, and celebrate recovery. NBP played host to the event in 2014.
SIS will hold its annual Community Paddle Day, which is open to the public, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7 at Nathan Benderson Park. Learn more about SIS at survivorsinsync.org and more about NBP and SANCA at nathanbendersonpark.org.
About Survivors in Sync
The mission of SIS is to educate the public about breast cancer in a positive, proactive way; to serve as role models; and to promote a healthy, active lifestyle and provide organized opportunities for physical fitness, wellness education, and psycho-social empowerment among breast cancer survivors. For more information, go to survivorsinsync.org.
About SANCA
The Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates, Inc. (SANCA), is a not-for-profit 501c3 business created to manage Nathan Benderson Park, a community/public asset and world class, multi-use sports venue. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for our community and be an economic generator for our region. SANCA’s primary purpose is to develop and promote Nathan Benderson Park as a world class event center, team training site and Sarasota County Park, while providing outreach programs through recreation, safety training, education and volunteering as a service to our community. For more information, go to nathanbendersonpark.org/about-us/sanca-mission.