People looking out onto Killarney Lake will see something new this summer and that’s a dragon boat racing team.

A dragon boat is a human powered craft that usually has around 20 people in the boat. The boats compete in races which act as a fund raiser for cancer research.

Pauline Bruce moved to Killarney and she realized there wasn’t a dragon boat racing team in the community. She was part of a team that raced in Winnipeg for three years and thinks it’s a good idea to get a team established in Killarney.

“I was with Prostate Paddlers for three years and when I heard there wasn’t a club I found out Turtle Mountain Bible Camp had a dragon boat, I gave them a donation and they gave it to me so know I’m working to get a team together.”

Bruce has lined up a truck and trailer to haul the 39 foot 1,500 pound boat to Killarney. “Once we have it here we want to format a trailer so we can load it in and out of the water ourselves. That’s what I’m focusing on right now but we also have to purchase life jackets and dragon boat paddles.”

Work is also underway to get team members and right now Pauline Bruce says 13 women have signed up to take part in the practices and races. She’s also looking for ways to raise the $7,000 needed to get the dragon boat team onto the lake.

“We’ll do some fund raising like hot dog sales and I do some hand engraving and plan to do some glasses with our boat on them with out team name and we’ll take donations and people will get a glass. We’ll also do some bake sales and fun items like that” said Pauline Bruce.

A dragon boat team consists of 22 members and that includes the paddlers, a steer person and a drummer at the front. “We need a minimum of 21 people in case someone can’t make it for a practice one night.

Plans are for the team to practice once a week for one hour each session.

“It’s a lot of fun because you get splashed at by the team members in front of you and it’s about becoming a team and organize the paddling so you get up your speed. They go quite fast reaching speeds of up to 25 kilometers per hour.”

Anyone interested in joining the team can email Pauline Bruce at pbruce2019@outlook.com and her phone number is 204-215-0102.

“We are still looking for a name for the team and would like another seven or eight people to join the team.