FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elliott Scott
KC Pink Warriors Announced as Lockton Courage Award Honorees for the 2025 Women’s Sports Awards
KANSAS CITY, MO (December 11, 2024) – Today, WIN for KC announced KC Pink Warriors would be the recipients of the Lockton Courage Award at the 2025 Women’s Sports Awards presented by Burns & McDonnell. The annual awards program is WIN for KC’s biggest fundraiser and the largest luncheon in the country celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
The KC Pink Warriors dragon boat racing team began in 2019 and has grown to more than 45 members who are surviving and thriving after a diagnosis of cancer or have beaten cancer. Together, they have formed a community of support that competes in dragon boat races across the country. The KC Pink Warriors have won gold medals at dragon boat festivals across the United States and Vancouver. The team also hosted its first dragon boat festival in Kansas City in September. In their dragon boat, the KC Pink Warriors give themselves permission to focus only on being an athlete and paddling together as a team. It’s a way for them to form their identity around something other than someone who has heard the words, “you have cancer.”
“We are so proud of the amazing team we’ve built in just five years, coming together to inspire, restore and empower each other through dragon boat racing and the connections we’ve made,” says Linda Miller, team president, KC Pink Warriors. “Being out on the water together is a special feeling — it’s where we really tap into our own strength.”
The 2025 WIN for KC Women’s Sports Awards, which takes place this year in T-Mobile Center for the first time, kicks off by honoring local 2024 female high school state champions with their celebratory march across the stage. Then, throughout the luncheon, event attendees learn about the six honorees in the following categories: Children’s Mercy Kansas City Rising Star Award, Lockton Courage Award, Kissick Construction Game Changer Award, UMBFC Charitable Foundation Lifetime Sportswoman Award, Hallmark Cards Leadership Award and Forvis Mazars BE BOLD Award. Finally, the featured guest delivers remarks reflecting her challenges and triumphs in the world of sports.
“The KC Pink Warriors are true examples of how sport can help us not only physically, but mentally as well,” says Taylor Obersteadt, Director of WIN for KC. “We admire the team’s courage and dedication to one another in addition to showing the country that strong dragon boat teams can hail from the Midwest and not just coastal cities.”
The 2025 Women’s Sports Awards presented by Burns & McDonnell will be on Tuesday, February 4. For more information, please click here.
About WIN for KC
The Women’s Intersport Network for Kansas City (WIN for KC), was established in 1994 under the umbrella of the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission, with the mission to ignite girls and women through advocating and promoting the lifetime value of sports and fitness, while providing opportunities for participation and leadership development. WIN is a volunteer, membership-driven organization that operates as a program of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation. For more information, visit WINforKC.org. For the latest on WIN for KC news, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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