It was once thought that upper body exercise caused lymphedema in women with breast cancer, but a doctor proved this theory wrong in the early 2000s. In fact, the study proved the opposite was true—thus, the Central Coast Dragon Boat Association SurviveOars was created to support those whose lives have been affected by breast cancer.
Breast cancer survivor and Morro Bay resident Rose Marie Battaglia helped found the group, she said, and was recently selected to compete for the USA Breast Cancer team at the 17th World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, this July in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. Alongside Battaglia, SLO resident Belin Tanner was selected for the USA Senior C team.
In 2007, Battaglia said she had a friend approach her about a study that a doctor conducted in Canada using dragon boating, a 2,000-year-old Chinese sport, to determine if upper body exercise caused lymphedema in women with breast cancer.
“What he found was that the benefits of being part of the group outweighed any negatives that it may have had—which it had no negatives,” she said.
Battaglia already owned a kayak shop in Morro Bay, so rowing a dragon boat easily propelled forward from there.
“We had a 10-man canoe and so she said, ‘Do you want to try starting something here?’ And I said, ‘Sure, that sounds like fun,'” Battaglia said, “and so we put it out, and we got a small group of women that filled that boat.”
Since then, the Central Coast Dragon Boat Association has grown into a roster of more than 100 people and three boats.
“We offer dragon boating to cancer survivors as well as supporters of people with cancer,” she said. “Anybody can go. Everybody’s been affected with cancer.”
While it was once thought that a sport like dragon boating was harmful to women, Battaglia said if anything, it’s nothing but beneficial.
“You have the camaraderie with like-minded people who are working towards thriving in their survivorship. They want to make sure that they not just survive but come out victorious over this nasty disease. It helped me realize that there’s a bunch of women out there that are really competent to do things,” she said. “Oftentimes you don’t find that in life, especially in the medical world. You’re dealing with so many doctors, and they have their spiel, and when you’re able to discuss it with other people that have gone through it, it really changes your mindset on how you could tackle this, this diagnosis of cancer that you’ve received.”
The dragon boating team started off as a way of connection among women, but Battaglia said she never expected to be on Team USA.
“They have tryout camps or evaluation camps,” she explained. “It involved a time trial on an outrigger canoe for two. So you were in the front seat, and then there was a person in the back seat who steered, … then we had to go on a rowing erg. … And you had to do a 500-meter test.”
When she found out she made Team USA, she said it was like walking on clouds.
“When I got the phone call telling me in the first cut that I made the team, it just felt great,” she said. “One of the things that is nice about Team USA, you’re working with the best of the best, right? So, everybody in the United States has come to be evaluated, to be on the team. And so you have to be at the top level, elite athleticism. It’s just nice to be in a boat with strong paddlers.”
Battaglia and Team USA are competing from July 14 to 20 in four separate metered races. For updates on race results, visit world-dragonboat-championships2025.de.
Fast fact
• El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) is partnering with CoastHills Credit Union to launch a month-long towel drive in support of local individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Throughout July, community members are invited to donate new bath towels to help meet a critical and often overlooked need. Drop off donations at the Atascadero CoastHills Credit Union branch, where a dedicated towel collection bin is available all month, or at either of ECHO’s campus locations in Atascadero or Paso Robles. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 17-27, 2025.