About the BUST'N LOOSE Team

Who we are

Get in shape, stay in shape! Get out on the water without buying your own boat. Paddle with twenty other people in a 40 foot boat with a dragon head and tail!  Adventure, and fresh air! Need we say more????

BUST'N LOOSE is a group of breast cancer survivors from Kelowna, British Columbia, who paddle for fun, to raise awareness and to support breast cancer research. We are a group of 35 active paddlers and 5 support crew who want to encourage all who have been affected by breast cancer that it is beatable.

The sport of Dragon Boat racing has existed for more than 2,000 years, originating in China and now widely popular throughout the world.

Teamwork, power and style define the best dragon boating teams.  It is a refreshing sport that is certain to keep you fit, build camaraderie and teamwork while enjoying the beauty of being on the great Okanagan Lake.

WHO are the founders of the team?

In 1998 a group of women consisting of Judy Hodson, Happy Campbell, Bev Billehaug, Judy Stephens, Carole McCutcheon and Jacqui Mills decided they needed a sport that would support breast cancer survivors in the Kelowna district.

They formed an alliance, primarily with a local coach but soon after with a group of young people known as Foundation 2000. They provided the first dragon boats along with young people in the ‘know’ who taught these ladies and several others how to paddle, how to drum and how to steer. Their first race as a team was 1999. They didn’t have a name at first but one of the girls had just started a business and she offered a name she had chosen for her business. Thus BUST'N LOOSE was born.