The Thunder Dragons dragonboat racing team swept up multiple gold and silver medals at the Master Games, an over-40s sporting event held annually in Canberra.

The team is a union of Dragons Abreast Illawarra and the Sussex Inlet River Dragons, who trained together twice a month in preparation for the competition which had roughly 1800 paddlers take to the water from 18-25 October.

Dragons Abreast Australia (DAA) is a national body with 29 clubs and over 1100 members across the country dedicated to forging relationships between breast cancer survivors and encouraging them to engage in team-oriented physical activity.

Dragonboat racing has been a popular fitness outlet among breast cancer survivors worldwide for 30 years, since Canadian Professor and avid kayaker Don McKenzie conducted research to dispute the notion that cancer survivors were not permitted to exercise following their treatment.

Dragonboating was chosen due to its similarities to kayaking as well as its repetitive use of upper-body movement.

“It’s a wonderful sport, particularly for breast cancer survivors to reclaim their life after treatment,” said DAA Board Director and Illawarra Dragon Boat Club member Ann Boulton.

“The benefit is the connection that the survivors make with each other… and flowing on from that [is] the fitness and health aspect.”

Boulton has been paddling since 2013 when she moved to Kiama from Sydney following a breast cancer diagnosis.

She was introduced to the sport by the Dragons Abreast founders, who were fellow members of the Illawarra Breast Cancer Support Group at St Paul’s Church.

In addition to her efforts with Dragons Abreast, Boulton is a paddling coach and facilitated the cost-free Encore exercise program through the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) for women who have recently undergone gruelling cancer treatment.

The DAA has plenty of opportunities ahead, including Lunar New Year in Darling Harbour in February and a four-day festival on the Gold Coast next September called Pink Paddle Power.

Six Australian teams will also head overseas in August to compete against 4500 paddlers from other countries in the International Regatta organised by the International Breast Cancer Paddling Commission in France.

In the meantime, Dragons Abreast offer Come And Try Days to the community, where recovering breast cancer patients can dip their toe into the water sport and expand their support networks.

The next Come and Try Day is taking place this Saturday (1 November) at The Rowing Club at Northcliffe Drive in Warrawong.

Dragon Boat NSW has also introduced a new initiative called Dragon Pass, where interested parties or aspiring paddlers can get their first month of membership at their local club for free.