Women's Rowing to Partner with Breast Cancer Recovery Program
October 20, 2009 | Women's Rowing
Oct. 20, 2009
BOSTON - The Boston University women's rowing program and head coach Stacey Rippetoe have started a partnership with WeCanRow (Women Enduring Cancer Row) Boston as an outreach program of the university. Founded in 2002 as the original chapter of the National WeCanRow program, the organization is a wellness and recovery program for breast cancer survivors.
Started by Olympic gold medalist and MIT head coach Holly Metcalf, WeCanRow is specifically designed to allow breast cancer survivors to reorient themselves with their bodies through the sport of rowing. The Boston chapter will use the DeWolfe Boathouse as the base of operations with weekly gatherings.
The goals of the program
* Help women recovering from breast cancer
* Develop healthy and strong bodies
* Become active participants in their own recovery
* Assert control over their bodies
* Rediscover the joy of movement
* Contribute to a mutually empowering recovery team
This program has since expanded nationally and about a dozen WeCanRow programs now exist throughout the country. Boston University is only the second university in the nation to host such a program.
"The benefits of this association are enormous," said Rippetoe. "Many WeCanRow athletes attended school without the opportunity to participate in athletics on the scale of today's student-athletes, and we look forward to sharing our facilities and educating our athletes about the richness of support they experience as part of BU athletics. As one in eight women will experience breast cancer in her lifetime, our athletes having direct contact with such active survivors may be a lifeline for them someday."
"We welcome WeCanRow Boston as part of the DeWolfe Boathouse community," she added. "We look forward to our athletes sharing their knowledge of rowing with our masters athletes and seeing our young Terriers learn firsthand about survivorship."
For more information on the program, please e-mail rippetoe@bu.edu or visit http://wecanrowboston.org/.
