Dragon boat team reunites to continue legacy they began in 2007

They are working together in support of a great cause. A group of local teens, many of them just finishing up their first year of university, are once again pooling their efforts to raise funds for the upcoming Dragon Boat race, an annual event at Jones Lake in Moncton in support of the IWK?Children's Hospital.
This time, however, they're doing it all on their own. This will be the first year the student-led team - known as Captain Blackbeard - won't be competing in the high school challenge but will instead race in the corporate competition for the Charity Cup, meaning the group will have to raise an extra $600 for registration fees on top of the $1,800 towards the cause - all without help from the usual school fundraisers.
Even amid their busy university lives, many of the rowers on the Captain Blackbeard team, who participated at the high school level with Tantramar Regional High School in 2007 and 2008, decided this past fall they wanted to continue the legacy they had begun two years earlier when they first joined the race in honour of their friend and classmate Robert Blackbeard, who was undergoing cancer treatments for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Kathryn Crossman, one of the original team members, said the idea to participate in the race once again began to formulate last October and by Christmas, "we said, 'we're going to do this."
And after hearing of Robert's relapse earlier this year, their determination was only strengthened.
"We thought it should be something we carried on," says Crossman.
She said it's also been a great opportunity to catch up with friends after a year away at university.
"It's bringing us closer together. Really, what better way to see each other than by doing something we believe in so strongly?"
And in just under a month, the team is already two-thirds of the way to meeting their goal.
"We've raised a lot of money. We thought we'd be a lot farther behind than we are but we're doing well," said Crossman.
Ever since their return from classes, the teammates have all been on the go non-stop - bagging groceries, holding bake sales and bottle drives, obtaining pledges, and getting corporate sponsors, all while also holding down jobs.
"I think it's nice for the town to see that there are students coming back from university and working together for a good cause, to raise money for something that matters to us . . ." said teammate Sarah Kay.
Natalie Crossman, Kathryn's mom, couldn't agree more.
"I am proud of my daughter and her friends. Some people think teenagers can be selfish and uncaring but these kids are going above and beyond," she said. "They are succeeding at something they set out to do, raising money for a great cause. How awesome is that?"
Scott Walton, one of the team members competing for the third time, said it's been an unbelievable experience coming together with his friends to make this work.
He said the team not only plans to raise the required $2,400 but hopes to exceed that amount through various local fundraisers (see sidebar).
All but six of the team members are university students. Captain Blackbeard has also recruited four Grade 10 students and a staff member from TRHS as well as Grade 12 student Robert Blackbeard.
Robert, after undergoing cancer treatments over the past few months, will be rowing in next month's race alongside his friends, whom he says have helped him stay strong. The first year Captain Blackbeard raced, Robert wasn't able to compete because he was undergoing treatments but he competed in last year's race.
"These guys are great," he says of his team, which includes 20 rowers and a drummer. "They're such a good bunch of people."
First diagnosed with Hodgkin's when he was 15, Robert said he recently completed his latest treatment after suffering a relapse this past winter and is currently waiting to undergo a scan in the next few months to determine if the cancer is in remission.
"I just hope everything's okay," he said.
Teammate Kraig Crossman said Robert's ordeal has been the main reason that the group has come together and worked as hard as it has.
"We're actually raising money for someone we know, not simply for the IWK," he said.
Greg Crossman, one of the newest members of the team, said he is excited about the race not only because of the team's drive to win but because of their motivation.
"It's going to be like any other sport, where you step into the arena and your heart starts pumping and your adrenaline starts rushing . . . but this has so much more of a meaning behind it," he said. "I'm fighting to raise money for my best friend, what could be more great than that?"
Kathryn said when Captain Blackbeard first started racing in 2007, they used the slogan "We're the small school with the big hearts." And even though many of them are now in university, she said those words still stick with the team.
"That's really what brought us together."
The corporate Dragon Boat races will take place on Saturday, June 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Jones Lake in Moncton. The high school challenge will be held on Friday, June 5.
Captain Blackbeard includes TRHS graduates Kathryn Crossman, Scott Walton, Catherine Lawrence, Sarah Kay, Seth Earle, Sara Thomas, Justin Thomas, Matthew Mosher, Josette MacIsaac, Carly Cousins, Wray Perkin, Kraig Crossman, Mary Kate MacLean, Jimmy Erhman, Camilo Martinez, Jake Mundle; Grade 12 student Robert Blackbeard; Grade 10 students Chloe MacIsaac, Greg Crossman, Hannah Caron, Autumn Embree; and TRHS staff member Tracey Comeau.