As I begin to write this blog Lionel Richie is on the radio – “Oh what a feeling” (dancing on the ceiling)!!! How incredibly apt, well maybe not the dancing on the ceiling, although there was a lot of dancing to be had!
Let’s start with “Oh what a feeling”… Oh what a feeling, jetting off from Auckland to Christchurch in a blaze of pink amidst this Covid world. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on how incredibly lucky we are here in NZ to be able to participate in a National event with literally hundreds of participants.
Travelling in pods, we had three groups arriving into Christchurch at staggered times with designated drivers for each mini van responsible for getting a bunch of excited, cackling ladies (and a couple of guys) safely to Ashburton. Bless you drivers for an outstanding job mustering us and driving us around over three days, not as easy as it sounds! I think of the courageous newbies who joined Busting this season and their anticipation and trepidation for what lies ahead over the next two days. It was only two years ago that I was a newbie too and the only solution I found was to go with the flow!
Precision timing is required from wake up to lights out, being at The Lake (Lake Hood) before dawn to witness the majestic sunrise on what were beautiful autumn days in Canterbury, the weather Gods were on our side. “Oh what a feeling”!
Each day started with Coach Leslie’s Pep Talk, Angie’s Inspirational Quote (from the fridge) and Lol’s Warm Up (also from the fridge). What is the fridge you may ask… A book exchange in Dunsandel.
Each days racing consisted of small boats, standard boats and some incredible ladies in our team who also represented Auckland in other categories… you are truly incredible! Collectively we had some outstanding results and just so we didn’t get too carried away, we had some underwhelming results too… hey but you can’t win ‘em all. It is as rewarding (well, almost) to celebrate the success of our sister teams and their achievements in what is always fierce competition on the water. One thing I am confident of is that we left it all out there on the water… Oh what a feeling!
Friday evening was dinner in honour of all of the amazing Breast Cancer Survivor Paddlers, an opportunity to meet and reconnect with fellow paddlers from around the country, albeit pretty tired after the days racing.
Day two… more wins, more losses, more comradery and the grand finale. Exhausted after giving our all and weighted down by our medals, somehow some of us found a second wind and were “Dancing on the ceiling… Oh what a feeling”!
To the strong, independent individuals who are Team Busting With Life 2021… “CONGRATULATIONS”… putting yourself out there and giving it your all is a celebration in itself! OH WHAT FEELING!