Sarah West, cancer survivor and multiple medal winner

Posted 7/6/17

Sarah also was a Trail Ambassador for the Friends of the Wissahickon. She used to conduct guided tours of Wissahickon Park.  by Sue Ann Rybak Cathedral Village resident Sarah West, 80, has always …

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Sarah West, cancer survivor and multiple medal winner

Posted

Sarah also was a Trail Ambassador for the Friends of the Wissahickon. She used to conduct guided tours of Wissahickon Park. 

by Sue Ann Rybak

Cathedral Village resident Sarah West, 80, has always been active. As a young girl growing up in New England, she played on several sports teams including girls’ basketball. “I was kind of feisty and could get in people's faces, so I could be a guard,” she said.

When school was out for the year, she spent her summers on an island off the coast of Maine. “My parents built a house there,” she said. “It was quite isolated. I learned how to row, sail and handle a motor boat. I learned to swim in Maine's icy cold water.”

So when someone suggested she join the Philadelphia Flying Phoenix Dragon Boat Team, she thought, “Why not?” After attending the team's practice, she immediately joined, despite never racing competively before.

Dragon Boat racing dates back over 2000 years. According to the International Dragon Boat Federation, it began in ancient China as a way of appeasing the rain gods. Today’s sport consists of 20 paddlers in a 45-foot boat with a steerer in the back with a long oar and a drummer up front to keep the pace.

In another article in the Local in 2013, West, who taught math and science at Germantown Friends School for over 25 years, said it took her about a year to learn how to paddle correctly. “You need to be putting your paddles in the water at the same instant, at the same angle; and coming out at the same instant, the same angle as everyone else,” she said. “And keeping the same pace. You have to concentrate and let go of all the things that are on your mind weighing you down. I was lucky enough to be able to do that for 15 years. The team traveled to a lot of places including Australia, Canada, Italy and Hungary.”

In 2013, she tried out for a seat on Team USA’s senior Dragon Boat racing team and earned a seat on the senior’s Division C Team (over 60) and traveled to Hungary to compete in the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships. West’s Senior C Team consisted of 45 people including paddlers, drummers, steerers and their coach.

Team USA arrived in Szeged, Hungary, in July. The 2013 team competed against dragon boat teams from 33 countries. The Senior C Team competed in the 2000, 500 and 200 meters. The team came in third in all three races finishing just behind Canada and Australia. West competed in all three women’s events and the mixed 500. At 76 years old, she earned four bronze medals.

West, who lived in Mt. Airy for 31 years before moving to Cathedral Village, said this is the first year she hasn't been involved with The Philadelphia Flying Phoenix dragon boat club. “Last summer, we competed in Burlington, Vermont in a Breast Cancer Survivor Week,” she said. “The challenge that I face now is how to stay active, despite having mobility issues. I think that is a universal problem for many seniors.

“The other big activity I had to give up recently was being a Trail Ambassador for Friends of Wissahickon. For eight years, I gave walks in the Wissahickon. Being at Cathedral Village has really been a positive thing for me because there are lots of activities here that I can participate in.”

West is an active member of the Environmental Justice committee there. “We are trying to promote recycling in all aspects of Cathedral Village daily life,” said West, who has three adult children.

Recently, West was asked to be part of Cathedral Village's Masterpiece Living program. “The program is very inwardly focused. In terms of lifestyle, it means a lot to be a productive member of the community, so I want to find things that allow me to do that and are compatible with my physical capabilities.”

West uses a walker and motorized scooter to help her reach “the far corners of the 40-acre campus.” Despite having mobility issues and struggling with serious health issues, she is determined to remain a contributing member of her community. She may not be able to paddle a dragon boat or walk as fast as she once did, but she is still “feisty.”

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