We have come together as Sistership - to learn to trust our bodies again, to banish "the enemy within", and to see ourselves as vital healthy women with a race to finish.
We have come together as Sistership - to finish the race. Working together as a team and sharing the commitment of preparation is how we win.
In 1998, a group of women from Calgary gathered together to form the first dragon boat racing team in Alberta comprised of women living with breast cancer. Sistership was born. The enormous physical challenge of paddling a dragon boat became a quest to regain the health and confidence that the disease had stripped away. The women of Sistership achieved physical and emotional recovery through shared participation.
Sistership has grown to its current three crews comprised of
75-100 women from Southern Alberta by training hard with dedicated volunteer staff. Sistership enjoys success in competition.
Working together in the spirit of camaraderie and understanding, these remarkable women have achieved more than they ever imagined they could. They discovered there is life after cancer!
Our Coaches
Heather Webber
Heather has spent her life in sports and fitness. She was a competitive, nationally ranked swimmer at the age of fourteen and pursued an athletic scholarship to play volleyball in the United States when she graduated from high school. Heather completed a degree in Physical Education at the University of Lethbridge and continued to play and coach volleyball until she joined Sistership in 2001.
Heather has worked in the corporate health and fitness industry for over 20 years. She designed and implemented the Personal Fitness Trainer Program at Mount Royal College. She was invited to coach Sistership teams, mentoring under Jon Davis, in 2003 and has been part of the coaching and training team since then.
She is an inspiration to us all!
Jon Stuart
Picture to be added
Jon is the Head Canoe Coach at the Calgary Canoe Club NCCP Level 2. He is currently enrolled in the Competition Development Program (former level 3) BA Honors Psychology. He came to Calgary from the Balmy Beach Canoe Club in Toronto and has been coaching Sistership for the past year.
Athletic accomplishments:
Canadian National Dragon Boat Team Member 2003-2006
2-time World Dragon Boat Champion
Ontario Canoe Team Member 1999-2006
Canadian Junior War Canoe Champion
Canadian Senior War Canoe Champion
Canadian Juvenile C-2 Champion
Coaching/sporting experience:
Burloak Canoe Club Dragon Boat Program Coordinator/Head Coach
Coach for clinic put on by Canadian Men's Dragon Boat team
Ontario Championships Bantam War Canoe Silver Medalists
Western Canada Games Canoe Coach
Western Canada Games War Canoe Gold Medalists
Great White North Dragonboat Company - technical staff member, site manager, race official
Interests:
Road and mountain cycling
Cross country and downhill skiing
All types of paddling
Travel
Business/Marketing
Sistership is very fortunate to have Jon on our team! |
