2005 Events:

Penticton and Kelowna, 2005 - fantastic results!!

(Photo: Kelowna, Heat 1 - 1st place)

Penticton	Kelowna
Dale Charles Memorial Breast Cancer Survivor Race 3rd place overall - 2:45.047 (We joined with members from the Nelson Team to form the Kootenay Rhythm Dragons)	Breast Cancer Survivor Race - 12 teams 2nd place - Heat 1 - 2:50.87 3rd place overall - Bronze Medal
"Cabernet Sauvignon" Division 1st place - 2:25.759	Women's Division - 48 teams Saturday: 1st place - Heat 1 - 2:25.160 (See photo) 1st place - Heat 2 - 2:19.56
Trophy for Top Women's Team for the festival!!	Sunday: Semi-finals - 1st place - 2:22.03 Platinum A Finals - 1st place! - 2:31.04

Read the story of the race from the point-of-view of the Bronze medal crew here

Penticton news release:

Kootenay Robusters –Top Women's Team in Penticton Festival

The Kootenay Robusters won big at the Raymond James Penticton Dragon Boat Festival, held on Saturday, September 10th, 2005 , coming home with the trophy for top women's team.

Battling heavy winds, cold temperatures and high waves, the team used their mantra "power and control" to win all three of their heats.

The results were made even more satisfying by the fact that there was open water between the Robusters and the next boat in each race. "We got great starts and left everyone in our wake," exclaimed team member Margaret Green. Competition was fierce as mixed teams of men and women competed against the all-female teams like the Robusters (made up of breast cancer survivors and associates).

“We just went out there and paddled our own race, “enthused team captain, Joy Anderson. “Our coach, Trish Ostlund, has prepared the Robusters to really show what we could do, and superb steering by Trudi Toews and drumming by Sally Garcelon definitely gave us the edge we needed to win.”

In the breast cancer survivor race, survivors from the team combined with the newly-formed Kootenay Rhythm Dragons of Nelson to create a temporary team called the Kooteany Rhythm Robusters, which placed third in their event. At the present time there are not enough Robuster survivors to make a complete team for the cancer survivor events, and the Nelson team is in the same position. The goal is to recruit enough survivors to form a full team, so new members are always welcome.

Presenting Phyllis with a Bronze medal from the Kelowna Breast Cancer Survivor race:

Abreast In A Boat 10-year Celebration

The Robusters attended the Abreast In A Boat " Celebration of our 10th Season" on June 24-26, 2005. A good time was had by all and the Robusters posted a 2nd place in their final race.

If you would like to borrow the souvenir DVD of the 10-year celebration, contact Bernice.

Check out their website for more information.

Other 2005 Events

Rossland Spaghetti Supper – April 9 - Many of the Robusters assisted by selling tickets, decorating, serving the Spaghetti and attending the event. It was a fun time and very colourful with all the pink decorations and table cloths. The Legion donated the proceeds from their Saturday, Meat draw, Spaghetti supper, Silent Auction and penny jar to the Robusters. The total received was $1,603.00

The New York Society Cut-a-thon was again a very successful event on May 14th.

The Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Warfield Parade were held on May 28th.

Fabricland Promotion - Oct. 27 - 29 - "Donate $5 to the Robusters and receive 5m of fabric at 50% off". We had a display table of cancer information, our dragon head and a video running. It was a very successful event - we had contact with many, many women and received $985.00.

Calendar Project:   After the huge success of the Calendar Project last year, Jan Micklethwaite is coordinating it this year. Thanks go to Dr. Ron Perrier for his photos in the calendar again. A plaque was presented to him on May 22nd. Last year we sold all 2500 copies of the calendar. 25% of the proceeds are going to the oncology unit at the regional hospital again this year.