Every hand on deck

By Bernd Franke, QMI Agency
Published July 19, 2010, in The Standard
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2674904

ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO—Kiwanis Club members and the Notre Dame Rowing Club are in the same boat when it comes to wanting to introduce the sport to people with special needs.

A $5,000 donation from the service organization will be used by the region's newest rowing club to fund adaptive rowing programs for people with physical or intellectual disabilities or limitations. Support from the Kiwanis Club of Welland comes on the heels of $5,000 the club received to promote adaptive rowing from Rowing Canada, the sport's government body.

"Kiwanis of Welland is proud to make this donation of $5,000 to the Notre Dame Rowing Club to support local youth and others with disabilities," Kiwanis Club president Heather Horton said.

Opening rowing to more than the able-bodied in the community is among the goals of a club that received its charter last fall and this year is involved in its first season on the water, promoting both competitive and recreational programs. Head coach Richard TenDen said that within recreational rowing, people with a wide range of disabilities can be accommodated. In time, he added, this can allow for integration among disabilities and ultimately, into the club's regular programs.

"The mission of the Notre Dame Rowing Club is to give everyone in Welland the opportunity to participate in flat-water sports. Kiwanis of Welland, stepping up as it is has, gives us the ability to take the additional adaptive athletes of the sport of rowing."

One adaptive athlete is already participating in the new club's program, and he's glad he decided to test the waters.

"It has been a blast and very different from anything I have done before," said Jonathon Morrison, an accomplished wheelchair basketball player who graduated from Notre Dame in June.

Joining him on the water as a coach -- and as a potential crew-mate in doubles -- Jeff Hagar, who rowed competitively at the high school level and with the St. Catharines Rowing Club before losing his left leg in an accident a few years ago.

Notre Dame Rowing Club director Dave Pelette said landing a coach with Hagar's experience and insight into the challenges that adaptive rowers can face is a boon for the new club.

"In Jeff, we're fortunate in that he lives it because he's an amputee. Coaching adaptive athletes is very much crafted to the individual needs of the rowers and what they're capable of doing," said Pelette, who also is a coach at the Notre Dame club.

Eager in making rowing more accessible in the community, the club is inviting people with special needs to give the sport a try. Pelette said applicants will be assessed on their capabilities with a coaching plan tailor-made to their needs.

"We want to know how far they're willing to go as far as training goes, but we don't want to push them too far," he said.

Other than age -- the club isn't likely to accept an adaptive athlete who is too young -- Pelette doesn't see any barriers to becoming involved in the club's adaptive rowing program. Anyone interested is asked to e-mail TenDen at coacht@ndrowing.ca or club registrar Diane Chivers at admin@ndrowing.ca.

Focusing on participants' abilities, not their physical or intellectual limitations, is the goal of a program that wants to open rowing to "everyone in the community."

"For individuals newly facing the reality of a disability, many experience depression, a loss of confidence and a belief that their lives are limited," Pelette said in a release.

"Sports and recreation offer the opportunity to develop new skills, build self-confidence and a positive attitude that focuses on possibilities. Adaptive athletes can row at any level; for recreation, for competition, and for rehabilitation therapy."