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All Day, All Night, Dragon Boat
Labour Day weekend is the marker for many things. It means that school is starting, or that the Bombers are coming to town. Labour Day weekend reminds us that fall is coming; but it can also share with us one last glimmer of summertime! At COR, Labour Day weekend is Dragon Boat season. A weekend where months of practice culminates and give us one final payoff!
This year we were graced with calm waters and sun. A kindness we are not often afforded by the spirit of the Dragon Boats. This opened the door for competitors to be at their best. Especially our crew who were participating in our seventh consecutive festival under the team name ‘Rock You to the COR.’
Our first race had us finishing second in our heat achieving a time of 2 minutes and 33 seconds. It was a solid first race and it made way for a second heat race time of 2:34. A third race was guaranteed to all teams, but not all teams were solidified a birth in the C-Final the way Rock You to the COR did! With close to a three hour break between race 2 and the C final under our belt, we readied ourselves for the final sprint of the day. A race for all the marbles and bragging rights told round water coolers for weeks to come. Dragon Boat glory!
We paddled out long and loose like Coach Brad taught us so many times before. Bobbing and stroking to the familiar beat of a drum. Breathing in and out rhythmically we transformed into a well-oiled machine. The voices from the crowd disappeared and all that was left was our team. Our team versus two other boats.
“Leave it all out on the water; Nothing left in the Tanks!” rings out in the silence. One last message for the team as we approach the starting line. We buried our paddles in Wascana Lake for what seemed like forever, and then a mega phone muffled out the word, ‘GO!’
For two and a half minutes time stood still.
Sport and physical activity brings something out in us. For the most part it finds the best parts of our heart and shares it’s passion with the world. Sometimes it asks that we dig a little deeper and often it exposes the true grit that exists in every ounce of our hard work. To start the season some of us started out as strangers, most of us were colleagues and friends, but today we were C-side champions.
All Day, All Night, Dragon Boat.
Click here for CBC News Coverage of the 2016 Dragon Boat Festival
Sports Night is Back….
Sports Night is back! Join us on Thursday’s from 6-8pm at the Core Richie Community Center for an evening of spirited competition! Contact Ben for more details: ben@creativeoptionsregina.ca
COR Family BBQ
COR Supports, Individuals served, family and friends are invited to join us at our annual COR Family BBQ on Sunday, June 26th from 5:30-9:00pm on Willow Island. Please RSVP by June 24th! (Lets’ keep our fingers crossed for sunny weather!)
COR presents… Big Screen Fun!
Big Screen Fun is Back! Be sure to mark your calendar to join us at the Saskatchewan Science Center for an evening of Gaming and Movies on the Big Screen! Admission is Free! COR Supports, Individuals Served, Family Members and Friends are welcome to join! We hope to see you there!
Giving Patrick Independence – A Video by The Saskatchewanderer
The Saskatchewanderer spent some time this spring hanging out around COR capturing some footage of Patrick and his friends! Here is what he had to say:
“No two people are the same. That is the philosophy behind Creative Options Regina (COR), an organization that provides personalized support services for people with disabilities. The staff at COR tailor supports for each individual to help them discover their talents and interests and to help them reach their personal goals. COR has helped Patrick find full time work, develop an active social life and live independently in his own home. I first had the pleasure of meeting Patrick during a sports night at the Core Ritchie Community Centre in Regina, and I immediately understood his nickname — Energizer Bunny.”
A special thanks to the Government of Saskatchewan (Ministry of the Economy) and Neil Fisher (The Saskatchewanderer) for making this video possible!
Click here to learn more about The Saskatchewanderer.
-Michael
I trust people at COR.
“Well I like COR cause people get along. They don’t fight, they don’t hit, and they don’t hurt kids. I feel safe. I know everything isn’t cheap, but I work hard for my money. I work 2 jobs. My life was not going very good before. My life was going down instead of going up. Now my life is going up. I don’t have to put up with people that try to hurt me because I know no one is going to hurt me. If I have a problem with people I can talk to them and they listen. I’m glad my friend helped me when my back got sore. If someone was afraid or something, COR would say “I’m not gonna hurt you, you can trust us”. I trust people at COR. I was scared at first. Oh yeah, it was scary. It was really new. That was a long time ago. I was scared of my new boss and my new job for a while too. I got used to them. I have to get used to my job’s new building now.”
– Peter
Characteristics of a Caregiver
“To be a caregiver involves more than caring: it is to enter into a mutual change process with the person, with both becoming more, instead of less — the parent embracing the crying child instead of yelling; the teacher befriending a lonely child instead of punishing; the psychiatric nurse sitting with the confused and belligerent patient instead of opening the heavy seclusion room door; the social worker creating circles of friends around the homeless person instead of simply dishing out soup; the relief worker entering into the world of the political refugee and seeing the suffering heart instead of seeing only a number. Indeed, our intent has to be to change ourselves, deepen our love, increase our warmth, and recognize the wholeness and goodness of the other. We might never “change” the other. Our purpose has to be to change ourselves. Our hope is that our deepening love will also change the other.”
-John McGee
