LONDON, ON: A selection camp for Canada's first National Adaptive Rowing Team (NART) will be held at Rowing Canada's training facility, the Doug Wells Rowing Centre, in London on May 30.
"This is a big step for the adaptive rowing program," says Allison Sheard, National Adaptive Team head coach. "Many of these athletes have been training very hard to prepare for this selection camp and are working toward the goal of competing at the World Championships in Spain this summer. "
International races for adaptive rowing include the mixed coxed four event for athletes with mobility in their legs, trunk and arms; mixed double event for athletes with trunk and arms mobility; and the singles category for arms only athletes.
Adaptive athletes include Karen Van Nest (LTA), who is a carded athlete within the sport of pistol shooting and is on the national pistol team trying out for a spot on Canadas Paralympic team. Also participating is Rich VanderWal (A) - a certified ski instructor and multi-sport athlete who rowed in high school and has returned to the sport due to the development of competitive opportunities in the sport for adaptive rowers. Other athletes trying for positions include James Mumford (LTA), John Moorcroft (LTA), Erica Gnandt (LTA), Jennifer Clayton (A), and Lyndsey Young (TA).
There is an age range in athletes from 15 to 50, and participants include the first Canadian wheelchair athletes for rowing.
Final selection of the Canadian National Adaptive Rowing Team for 2004 will be made on or before June 4, 2004. Selection to the NART will require the athlete to compete at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and/or the FISA World Championships. Athletes not selected for the 2004 NART are encouraged to compete at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, held annually in St. Catharines, Ont., representing their home club. For participation at the FISA World Championships, final crew selection will take place by June 27, 2004, using a combination of results from ergometer testing, the selection camp results, and regatta experience.
BACKGROUND
Adaptive rowing is sweep rowing or sculling for people with physical or intellectual disabilities / limitations, including, in part, hearing impairment, paraplegia, quadriplegia, Down Syndrome, blindness, visual impairment, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. This program is not new to the rowing community, as adaptive rowing has been offered at many clubs around the world for more than 20 years.
Many different types of disabilities can be accommodated within the same crew allowing for integration among disabilities and, ultimately, integration into regular programs within the club.
In September 2002, FISA, the international rowing federation, asked member countries to consider their participation in the Seville Protocol. The agreement works towards the inclusion of rowing in the 2008 Paralympics to be held in BEIJING.