Hi everyone!

My name is Mia Chalmet, and I am a 19-year-old dragon boater from Southern Alberta. I have been doing Dragon Boating for 3 years now, and have been watching the sport since I was little.

My dragon boating journey began at the age of 17 when I signed up for a summer paddling program with DASA (Dragon Boating Association of Southern Alberta). I paddled for the summer and was then invited to join the Coulee Cruisers, a local competitive dragon boating team under DASA. After a couple of months with the team, my coach Jimi and I decided that I should try out for the 18u National Team alongside three of my fellow teammates. After 10 months of intense but rewarding training, I made the 18u National Team, and was able to represent Canada with all three of my teammates at the 16th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. This was an incredible experience, and after having our first day of races, I knew I was hooked for life.

Since then, I have accumulated 9 World Championship medals (gold, silver, and bronze!) from both Thailand in 2023 and Italy in 2024. Now, a year later, I have taken yet another big step in my Dragon Boating journey. Having now moved up an age category (into 24u), I knew that making another National Team would be very difficult as the 24u age group is extremely competitive. Through grit and resilience, I underwent an 8 month long selection cycle for the 24u National Team and came out victorious by officially making the team! The selection process taught me so much, and I now feel very ready and confident to go my next World Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany, from July 14th – 20th, 2025. This competition is set to be the biggest World Championships that dragon boating has ever seen, with 4500+ athletes competing from 34 countries.

This is a very special opportunity for me to represent my home country once again, and I feel very honoured to do so. Unfortunately, this opportunity comes at a big cost. My cost for this trip, including flights, accommodation, transportation, competitions fees, apparel, and food are estimated to be north of $6,000. Therefore, if you have the means to donate to my cause, I would be very appreciative and thankful. This is such a big step in life and I am excited to see where this takes me.

Thank you for reading my story, and thank you for your support in my dragon boating journey at the World Championships in Germany.