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London, Ont., dragon boat community loses 'world class stern' to cancer

Coach and steersperson Sarah Shellard led her dragon boat crew to nine national victories. She died on Sunday, at 60 years old.

'It was just devastating to our entire team and the family,' says team captain

Allison Devereaux · CBC News ·
Two women stand shoulder to shoulder, wearing matching, black jackets and medals. One has their arm around the other.
Sarah Shellard (left) and her partner, Cheryl McLachlan. "They made you believe in yourself," said team captain Linda Kuska. (Shirley Holland)

Sarah Shellard's teammates will remember her in her element: one hand steering the dragon boat, tea in the other, and yelling loudly at her crew. 

The London, Ont. dragon boat coach and steersperson died on Sunday, after her second bout with cancer. She led her crew, made entirely of breast cancer survivors, to nine national victories after joining in 2008. 

"She was fun-loving, she was one of best technical coaches you could ever have, and she was a world class stern." said team captain Linda Kuksa. 

Shellard was so skilled that teams from all over Canada wanted her to be their steersperson for world championships, she said. 

A female steersperson shouts from the back of a dragon boat at four male members of her crew, who are paddling vigorously with determination.
"You would hear this lovely English accent. Then all of a sudden, when she needed you to do something, it was that full-on, gut voice that could project to the front of the boat." said team captain Linda Kuska. (Jeff Holubeshen)

Part of that success was her ability to shout commands from the back of the boat. 

"She has that booming voice," rememberd Kuska. "It does not come from the throat. It's coming from the gut," she said. 

About 35 women, of all ages, crowded together and smiling at the camera. At the front, two members hold a white sign reading, "Rowbust dragon racing team. London breast cancer survivors."
"The best way we can honour her is to do well in our health, in our life, in our padding. Be stonger, be fitter, be healthier," said team captain Linda Kuska. (Provided by Linda Kuksa)

The Rowbust dragon boat team in London, Ont., is made of up cancer survivors. At 29, Shellard was diagnosed with colon cancer. "She got thirty years out of that, which is unbelievable," said Kuska. Last year, she found out the cancer had come back. 

"It was just devastating to our entire team and the family," said Kuska. Shellard was 60 when she died. According to her obituary, she was born in Iserlohn, Germany and registered in England. She became a Canadian citizen in 2016. 

The simplest pleasures in life brought great joy to Sarah, it said. 

Men in Team Canada t-shirts paddle a dragon boat with determination. A woman in a ball cap stands at the back of the boat, steering and smiling.
"She was a world class stern." said team captain Linda Kuksa. International Flat Water Paddling Centre in Welland, Ont., 2015. (Jeff Holubeshen )

"It's going to be tough, said Kuska, imagining the crew's next time on the water, without Shellard. But she also knows their former coach and stern would expect them to keep going. 

"She would want us to suck it up," said Kuska. "She would want us to move on and get every ounce out of this life."

LISTEN: Team captain pays tribute to Sarah Shellard

 


 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allison Devereaux

Allison Devereaux is the host of Afternoon Drive in London, Ont. She's been with CBC News for a decade, reporting from Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Winnipeg and Halifax. Reach her with story ideas: allison.devereaux@cbc.ca

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