Sport
16 March, 2025
Line dancing to fundraise for COUCH
PLAY it Again Line Dancing Cairns is polishing their cowboy boots for a good cause, as they prepare to host a fundraising dance event next week for COUCH after the group’s beloved founder and teacher was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Play it Again Line Dancing Cairns dance instructor and founder Sybil Cumming has always loved line dancing, the intricacy, the music and the fitness of it, which is why she started a class eight years ago after moving to Cairns.
Since then, one class has turned into six and a couple of students into almost 100. In December when Mrs Cummings was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma she had already organised their next social but after the news it became a fundraiser.
The event is taking place at the Edge Hill Progress Association Hall on Mayers St on Thursday, March 20 from 9am to 12.30pm. Entry costs $10 and there will be raffles and lots of prizes with all profits donated to COUCH to support people living with cancer in Cairns.
“The support I’ve received from the line dancing community has been absolutely incredible,” Mrs Cumming said.
“Some people are not even coming to the event, just donating. My students are, not only buying raffle tickets, but donating to the raffle. If I look tired at class, they take over and ask me to sit.
“For the last three or four weeks people have been supporting the event. They’ll show up to class with a shopping bag to add to the raffle and even other line dancing groups are getting involved and helping.
“My social events are very popular. We have people from Mareeba and Tully coming and it’s a good opportunity for beginners and also the more advanced dancers to try their steps and moves. I won’t be able to be there because that day I have my first session of chemo but it’ll be a very fun morning and I encourage people to join.”
Mrs Cumming said she didn’t know about COUCH before the fundraiser but it was comforting knowing that support services like this were available. “A friend was the one who told me about COUCH. I had cancer before when I lived in Sydney and I struggled so much, I felt abandoned,” she said.
“To know that there’s somewhere I can go and meet people under similar circumstances or who’ve had similar experiences is really comforting.”
For more information, contact Mrs Cumming at 0414 992 324.
