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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, November 7, 2014 | 28 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" The power of team Being part of a world-champion dragon boat crew helped Oakville woman deal with loss of home, pets to fire by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor F or two years, members of the Outer Harbour Senior Women Dragon Boat Team had poured their hearts and souls into getting better, desperate to secure the world championship gold that had always eluded them. Suddenly, it all seemed for naught. Outer Harbour had just collided with an American boat in the 2,000-metre final at September's World Club Crew Dragon Boat Championships in Ravenna, Italy. The accident would cost the Outer Harbour team approximately 25 seconds, which almost certainly spelled doom -- or at least a less-desirable spot on the podium -- in the timed event. Discouraged, the 16-paddler crew continued on to finish the race. After they crossed the finish line, many were disconsolate. Although the final results would not be available for another hour, they weren't optimistic. Steersperson Karen McKeown repeatedly apologized to her teammates, even though they all felt the American team was to blame for the collision, and even though incidents like this were not completely uncommon in dragon boat races. Tears flowed. "Don't worry about it," Heather Wilson said to her teammates. "You can't cry for something that doesn't cry for you." A new perspective It wasn't that Wilson was callous, and it wasn't that she didn't care. It was that just two months earlier, the 49-year-old Oakville Realtor had gained an entirely new perspective on what really mattered in life. On Saturday, July 5, as the Outer Harbour team warmed up for the 500m final at the Canadian club championships In top photo, Heather Wilson (center) is surrounded by Outer Harbour Senior Women Dragon Boat Team members after the squad won gold at the Canadian club championships earlier this year in Welland. Wilson's home had burned down to the ground the previous day, killing six of her pets. In below photo, the team competes at the world championships in Ravenna, Italy. | photos submitted in Welland, Wilson received a phone call. Her house in west Burlington, which she had moved into the previous fall after living 17 years in Oakville, was on fire. Wilson and her partner, Ken Brown, immediately returned to their home to even worse news. The blaze had not only caused more than $200,000 in damage, it had also claimed the lives of six of their pets: three dogs, two cats and a lizard. "All we had were the belongings on our backs," Wilson recalled. "The loss of our fur family was devastating." Numbed by shock, the couple helplessly stood by as police and firefighters secured the scene, animal control removed the deceased pets and their insurance representative arrived. Then, it dawned on Wilson. She needed her team. Wilson texted Outer Harbour manager Carol DeVarennes -- one of four other Oakville women on the squad, along with Lisa Champion, Sue MacDonald and Shelley Malone -- and learned that the club had won both the 500 and 2,000m titles without her. Wilson then told DeVarennes that she and Ken would both be back in Welland for the 200m race the following day. "It was a no-brainer," Wilson said. "It was a bit of normalcy in your life, when everything else had been turned upside down. That is needed. There was nothing we could do (Sunday, the day after the fire). We had to wait for the insurance guy to come on Monday, so why not go? I could be there to cheer them on. I couldn't have gone in the boat -- I was physically a mess -- but I could be there for them." DeVarennes wanted to ensure Wilson's primary focus was on the health and well-being of her family, but understood her teammate's mindset. "We're a pretty cohesive team. We totally support and inspire each other all the time," DeVarennes said. "I knew she wanted to be there, to be surrounded by the team that she considers family. Knowing Heather, that didn't surprise me at all. It was a better place for her to be." So Wilson was at the finish line as Outer Harbour completed the sweep of the three national titles. She hadn't told her teammates that she'd be there, but a couple of them later told Wilson they had heard her cheering for them during one of the heats. Wilson would wind up missing just one practice -- the see Football on p.29