Diane Sturmer and Andy Geis paddling together - see inside.

Photo © 2006 by Kevin Carr Spring Vol 43 Issue 1

The magazine for marathon competition paddlers throughout North AmericaCANOE NEWS

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Few people seeing them would realize that these elite paddlers (in Florida for winter training) each have a disability. Left to right: Chris-tine Selinger, Chris Pearson (in back), Tony Flores (in front), Christine Gauthier, Tammy Jopson (in back), Tami Saj (in front in OC-1).

USCA Welcomes ParaCanoe Paddlers

This extract features articles and information on adaptive paddling from the Spring 2010 edition of USCA Canoe News.On August 10, 2010, USCA inaugurates two new Sprint Championships for Paddlers with Physical Disabilities in Solo Va’a (outrigger) and K1 (divisions for both men and women) at the USCA National Canoe & Kayak Championships in Peshtigo, WI

USCA’s New National Sprint Championships for Paddlers with Physical DisabilitiesNew PK1 & PV1 Championship Classes to Debut at Peshtigo NationalsUSCA initiates two new solo classes to replace the DC8 outrigger format in its national championships in 2010. Here, Kevin Carr gives some background to adaptive paddling in general; Jan Whitaker outlines the evolution over the last decade of both national and international competitive paddling for pad-dlers with physical disabilities and explains the basis for USCA’s format; Canoe News provides a glossary of terms!

I was standing on the shore of a lake just outside of Cleve-

land, Ohio. My fellow partici-pants in an ACA Adaptive Pad-dling Workshop were out for a Sunday afternoon paddle. A couple walking past on a hiking path stopped to chat: “What’s with all of the wheelchairs? Where are the people?” I pointed to the group out on the water: “Those chairs belong to about half of the folks out on the water. Can you tell which ones they are?” They couldn’t.

They hadn’t thought paddling a canoe or kayak would be pos-sible for someone with a dis-ability. One of the great joys of my “job” is to explain a great truth: disability isn’t a barrier to paddling. As a matter of fact, paddling is a path to great freedom.Water is an incredible equalizer. When on the water, land-based barriers disappear. Everyone is at eye level with one another. The feel of floating on water and knifing through it is one of

the most satisfying experiences on earth, whether the person is powering their own boat, or is paired with a partner. In the case of someone who has a disability, all that is required is to find ways to compensate for whatever loss of function they have experienced. It can be as simple as a slight modifica-tion of stroke technique or as involved as a full seating system that enables a person to “come along for the ride”. With prop-er support, safe equipment, and good education, paddling can change how you look at water.Advances in equipment are making adapting a canoe or kayak much safer and simpler, and opening the sport to those who may have been excluded previously. Kayak seating has evolved to include multiple ad-justments and higher backrests. Larger cockpits allow for easier transfers and safer wet-exits. Whitewater outfitting includ-ing seat cushions, hip supports and thigh supports can custom-

12th Annual Rochester River Challenge Outrigger Canoe Sprint Races in Rochester, NY in 2007. The race organizer was Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana (CAOO), whose president, Jan Whitaker, is USCA’s Adaptive Padding Chair. CAOO is a chapter of DS/USA (Disabled Sports USA).

Adaptive Paddling at USCA’s Championships in Peshtigo, WI — Freedom on the Water

Photo copyright © 2007, courtesy of Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana, Inc

Freedom on the WaterAdaptive Paddling Opens Doors and Removes Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Carr, Chosen Valley Creating Ability

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ize seating to fit the individual’s needs quickly and easily, with-out compromising safety. The addition of efficient outriggers and adaptive seating with later-al supports can give stability to a sleek canoe or kayak, allowing a paddler to slice through the water efficiently – even if they have issues with balance.Safety is a primary concern in any sport, and proper educa-tion is critical to safety. The American Canoe Association (www.americancanoe.org) pro-vides training for instructors through regional adaptive pad-dling workshops. Local ACA certified instructors provide in-struction in paddling and work with paddlers to safely adapt their boats. The ACA has declared 2010 the “Year of Inclusive Paddling,” so there is no time like the present to get involved. For veterans and those current-ly serving in the military, Team River Runner (www.teamriver-runner.org) provides instruction and equipment through VA fa-

cilities across the country. TRR has grown from a program serv-ing wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center to a nationwide organization promoting healing through paddling. The ACA and TRR are working together to expand the range of paddlers who can safely enjoy the sport.In recent years, adaptive pad-dling has expanded beyond recreation and into the world of competitive racing. In 2008, the first full medal adaptive events were featured at the International Va’a Federation (IVF) World Sprints in Sacra-mento, CA. Teams from east and west US coasts, Hawaii, England and Italy competed in several divisions. Last year the IVF and ICF (International Canoe Federation) combined to include adaptive events in the 2009 ICF World Sprints in Nova Scotia. This summer, adaptive divisions will feature in the USCA Sprint Championships in Peshtigo, WI and at the 2010 World Sprints

Mike Powers, Williamstown, MA with a kayak paddle hand adaptation made by Chosen Valley.

in Poznan, Poland. All of these events further the effort to in-clude kayaking/outrigger canoe-ing in the Paralympic Games. The competitive spirit is alive and well in adaptive sports, and the world of canoeing and kaya-king is in full bloom as a vehicle to scratch that competitive itch – not to mention the fitness aspect that improves the quality of a person’s life.So here’s the bottom line: pad-dlesports can offer peace, free-dom, exercise, and competition. It can be an activity enjoyed

Chris Pearson, of Regina, SK, Canada, paddling an Albatross OC1 with a Chosen Valley adaptive paddling support seat.

Freedom on the Water

Upper photo copyright © 2010 by Kevin Carr Lower photo copyright © 2009 by Amy Moore-Powers2

Freedom on the Water

Photo copyright © 2006 by Kevin Carr

what a blessing this has been. I’ve watched a team of Wound-ed Warriors remove their pros-thetics, transfer out of their wheelchairs, pick up paddles and smoke a team of ROTC cadets in an outrigger race. I’ve seen a husband and wife paddle off together and enjoy a shared activity – something they had been unable to find since an accident broke his spine. I’ve watched – see left – as a young man who couldn’t see or hear sat morosely holding his paddle – until a volunteer placed her hands on his and showed him how to move his paddle through the water. His face erupted in a gigantic grin (and guess what? Her smile was even bigger than his!). Each event I attend leaves me driving home with ideas racing through my mind, impatiently waiting for their opportunity to come to life in the little shop that I call home. Like anything else in life, “disability” cannot be narrowly defined, so our task is endless – but so is our joy. Come and share in that joy!Kevin Carr will be on hand at the 2010 USCA National Canoe & Kayak National Champion-ships in Peshtigo, WI, August 10 to demonstrate some of the adaptations that his family business has developed to help paddlers with disabilities.

The joy of paddling and friendship – see below. Here, Diane Sturmer of Heritage Christian Services* and Andy Geis enjoy paddling in CAOO’s outrigger canoe program. * See “ParaGlossary,” next page.

by families, friends, and total strangers. Disability doesn’t need to be seen as a barrier to any of that – as a matter of fact, it can pro-vide an entirely new perspective on the sport. We embrace and take great pleasure in many of these elements at Creating Abil-ity (www.creatingability.com). Our small family business (ok, large family, small business) designs and manufactures seat-ing with multiple adjustments

and lateral support that can be mounted into many types and brands of watercraft.We also produce several types of hand adaptations and fully outfitted boats. Our goal is to enable everyone to get on the water safely and to enjoy it. In the past 5 years, we’ve had the rare privilege of sharing in the journey of adaptive pad-dlers, teachers and organizations across the country and around the world. I can’t fully express

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United States Canoe Associa-tion has changed the format of the sprint championships for paddlers with physical disabili-ties, moving from an outrigger multiperson team format to a solo format to reflect the prog-ress of ParaCanoe towards in-clusion in Paralympic Games. Beginning this year, solo PV1 (solo ParaVa’a) and solo PK1 (solo ParaKayak) 500 meter sprint races are scheduled for paddlers having a physical disability in any of the major disability groups (amputa-tions, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, blind) involved in Paralympic sport.The ICF excludes the category of blind and visually impaired; USCA will include this cate-gory because the IVF supports the inclusion of blind pad-dlers in their bi-annual World Sprint Championships. The IVF uses only rudderless va’a; solo va’a with rudders will be allowed in USCA Canoe & Kayak because rudderless V1s are not widely available throughout mainland USA.

USCA certified canoe instructors are encouraged to team up with a physical therapist or a certified therapeutic recreation specialist to prepare paddlers with disabilities for ParaCanoe competition in the 2010 USCA National Championships.

I am confident that USCA mem-bers will be on hand to extend the traditional warm welcome to paddlers of all abilities.

USCA: Welcome, ParaCanoe PaddlersThe United States Canoe Associa-tion has welcomed paddlers with disabilities into its national canoe & kayak championships since 2001 when the first exhibition outrigger canoe races were held at Lake Lanier. These inaugural exhibition races played an im-portant role in the inspiration and subsequent development of paddle sports opportunities for paddlers with disabilities:

• 2004 (April) – USA Canoe/Kayak (USACK) included ex-hibition outrigger canoe sprint races for paddlers with disabili-ties in the schedule of races at 2004 USACK Olympic Trials• 2004 – International Va’a Fed-eration (outrigger canoe) includ-ed one V12 exhibition race for adaptive paddlers in the 2004 IVF World Sprints in Hawaii• 2005 – USCA included inau-gural Outrigger Canoe Sprint Race National Championships for paddlers with disabilities• 2006 – IVF included exhibi-tion V12, V6 and V1 races in the 2006 IVF World Sprints in New Zealand• 2007 – IVF developed a clas-sification system for the sport of va’a• 2008 – International Canoe Federation’s PaddleAll Confer-ence was held for the purpose of developing ICF canoe and kayak sports for inclusion in Paralym-pic Games; USCA’s Adaptive Paddling Chair (Jan Whitaker)

presented “Outrigger Canoeing, a Sport for Paddlers in all Major Disability Groups involved in Paralympic Sport” to encourage the use of va’a as the single blade sport for athletes with disabili-ties.• 2008 – IVF offered V12, V6 and V1 World Championship Sprint Races for Adaptive Pad-dlers in 2008 in Sacramento, California• 2009 (July) – ICF and IVF signed an agreement to form a working party to unite their efforts to promote the sport of va’a for inclusion in 2016 Para-lympic Games• 2009 (August) – ICF World Sprint Championships, held in Nova Scotia, included inau-gural K1, K2 and V2 races for ParaCanoe (also ParaKayak and ParaVa’a) paddlers; International Canoe Federation terminology PaddleAll, PaddleAbility, Can-Canoe changed to ParaCanoe• 2009 (October) – ICF started the application process for in-clusion of ParaCanoe in Para-lympic Games in 2016• 2010 (August) – ICF will of-fer Para Canoe races in their World Sprint Championships for V1 and K1 paddlers in the Legs-Trunk-Arms, Trunk-Arms and Arms only categories to encourage ICF member nations to send at least one paddler with a physical disability to the championships. Entries from 24 countries and 3 continents are needed to fulfill one of the In-ternational Paralympic Commit-tee requirements for inclusion of sports in Paralympic Games.

ParaKayak & ParaVa’a at USCA’s Championships in Peshtigo, WI — Background and Format

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The ICF is the umbrella organiza-tion of most national canoe orga-nizations involved in Olympic and world competion. It is headquar-tered in Lausanne, Switzerland. 147 countries are affiliated with the ICF after seven national federations were added at the 2008 ICF Con-gress in Rome.Visit: www.canoeicf.com. Adaptive paddling is not easy to find on this web site, so try also USACK’s site http://usack.org – search “adaptive paddling”

IPC – International Paralympic Com-mittee (also, but not in this context, the Illinois Paddling Council)Founded in 1989, the International Paralympic Committee (165 Nation-al Paralympic Committees) is the global governing body of the para-lympic movement. IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the interna-tional federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. [See note on “para” at start of this glossary.]Visit: www.paralympic.org/IPC

IVF – International Va’a FederationIVF was created in 1981. Its found-ing members were (1) the Kalifor-nia Outrigger Association (KOA) now called Southern California Outrigger Racing Association (SCORA), (2) the Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (HCRA) and (3) the Federation Française de Pirogue Polynésienne (now called the Fédération Tahitienne de Va’a).Originally called the International Polynesian Canoe Federation (IPCF), it was later renamed “In-ternational Va’a Federation (IVF)” adopting “va’a” as the international term for outrigger canoe.Every two years, the IVF organizes the World Sprints Championship.

A Paddling ParaGlossary: A Guide to Abbreviations, Organizations, & Terms in Adaptive PaddlingA Paddling ParaGlossary!Every specialized area of human activity seems to develop its own vocabulary and spawns organiza-tions, events, and terms, many with with abbreviations that might puzzle a newcomer.Here’s a code breaker.Para...The terms Paralympic and ParaCa-noe derive from the Greek preposi-tion “para” (meaning “beside” or “alongside”) as in “parallel,” with the Paralympics, for example, being the parallel Games to the Olympics.Abbreviations & Organiza-tionsACA – American Canoe AssociationThe American Canoe Associa-tion (ACA) is the USA’s oldest and largest paddlesports organiza-tion (founded in 1880 by Scottish lawyer John MacGregor). ACA promotes canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. The Association publishes the bi-monthly Paddler Magazine (about to make its reappearance after a short hiatus).The ACA has been a leader in inclusive outdoor recreation for 20 years. 2010 marks the 20th anniver-sary of the ACA Adaptive Paddling program. This program is designed to provide training opportunities to paddlesports instructors and pro-gram providers, allowing a greater understanding of how to safely offer inclusive paddlesports oppor-tunities to all comers.2010 has been identified as the “Year of Inclusive Paddlesports” and training and educational ses-sions are being offered throughout the country. In 2009 the ACA, in cooperation with Human Kinetics and author Janet Zeller, published Canoeing

and Kayaking for People with Dis-abilities.Visit: www.americancanoe.org – search “adaptive paddling”

CAOO – Cape Ability Ohana OutriggerCape Ability Outrigger Ohana, Inc is a non profit 501(c )(3) organi-zation founded by Jan Whitaker, USCA’s Adaptive Paddling Chair, who brought the sport of outrigger canoeing to Rochester, New York in 1997. Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana, Inc is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA Visit: www.adaptivecanoeing.org

HCS – Heritage Christian ServicesHeritage Christian Services is a nonsectarian human services agency supporting more than 1,500 children and adults with devel-opmental disabilities through the operation of 57 residential homes, service coordination, respite and 20-day independent-living readi-ness programs. Visit: www.heritagechristianservices.org.

DS/USA – Disabled Sports USADisabled Sports USA was founded in 1967 by disabled Vietnam veter-ans. DS/USA provides opportuni-ties for individuals with physical disabilities to gain confidence and dignity through sports, recreation and educational programs. The organization is the nation’s largest multi-sport, multi-disability orga-nization serving more than 60,000 people nationwide. DS/ USA, a member of the US Olympic Com-mittee, conducts training camps and competitions to prepare athletes for the Paralympic Games. DS/USA of-fers sports rehabilitation programs through its nationwide network of over 80 community-based chapters.See also: Wounded Warriors – next page.Visit: www.dsusa.org.

ICF – International Canoe Federation5

The 13th World Sprints 2008 in Sacramento, CA, adaptive pad-dling was for the first time a fully recognized medal discipline in the official program.Visit: www.ivfiv.org – click on the “Para Va’a” link in the link array beneath “About Va’a”.

PV1, PV2, PV6, etc – ParaVa’a labels - see “ParaVa’a” and “V1, V2, V6, etc.”

TRR – Team River RunnerTeam River Runner, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, gives active duty servicemembers and veterans an op-portunity to find health, healing, and new challenges through whitewater boating and other paddling sports. The benefits of TRR have as much to do with creating a social network and support system as they do with learning water sports skills that pro-vide an exciting adventure lifestyle that suddenly seemed lost due to injury. The program also encour-ages family members to participate whenever possible.Visit: www.teamriverrunner.org.

USCA – United States Canoe AssociationFounded in 1968 to focus on mara-thon paddling competition, USCA runs a number of programs includ-ing youth development, safety and education, conservation, and adap-tive paddling.It has featured adaptive paddling competition since 2001 in its annual National Canoe & Kayak Cham-pionships, and this year will inau-gurate Sprint Championships for Solo Va’a and K1 at its Nationals in Peshtigo, WI (August 10, 2010).Its adaptive paddling committee is headed by Jan Whitaker.Visit: www.uscanoe.com – search “adaptive paddling”.

USACK – United States Canoe/KayakUSA Canoe/Kayak is a non-profit membership organization based

in Charlotte, NC, promoting ca-noe and kayak racing in the US. A member of the United States Olympic Committee, USACK is the national governing body for the Olympic sports of Flatwater Sprint and Whitewater Slalom, and is an official US federation of the ICF.Visit: http://usack.org – search “adaptive paddling”

V1, V2, V6, etc – abbreviations for solo va’a, tandem va’a, six-person va’a, etc.

TermsAdaptive paddling – This umbrella term applies to paddling with equip-ment designed to enable paddlers with various disabilities to partici-pate in paddle sports.

CanCanoe, PaddleAbility, PaddleAll – terms formerly used by the ICF for their adaptive paddling pro-grams – replaced in 2009 by the term “ParaCanoe.”

ParaCanoe – the general Interna-tional Canoe Federation term that refers to the paddle sports of both va’a and kayak for paddlers with disabilities.

ParaKayak, ParaVa’a – terms within the broader concept of ParaCanoe describing adaptive paddling for specific craft.

Paralympic Games – In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition involving World War II veterans with a spinal cord injury in Stoke Mandeville, Eng-land. Four years later, competitors from the Netherlands joined the games and an international move-ment was born. Olympic-style games for athletes with a disability were organized for the first time in Rome in 1960, now called Paralympics. In Toronto in 1976, other disability groups were added and the idea of merging dif-ferent disability groups for interna-

tional sport competitions was born. In the same year, the first Para-lympic Winter Games took place in Sweden.Today, the Paralympics are elite sport events for athletes with a dis-ability. They emphasize, however, the participants’ athletic achieve-ments rather than their disability. See note on “para” at start of this glossary.

Va’a – the Tahitian term for a tradi-tional canoe (in Hawaii it is wa’a – or what those haoles (foreign-ers) call an “outrigger”). Outrig-ger canoes have been used in the Pacific for more than 4000 years, and records show that there have been races dating back almost that far. Modern va’a sport developed in Tahiti (early 19th C) and Hawaii (early 20th C) and is now spread world wide.

Wounded Warriors – There are numerous organizations and pro-grams that have adopted the term “wounded warrior.” The Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organi-zation whose mission is to “honor and empower wounded warriors” of the United States Armed Forces was launched in 2002 (see www.wound-edwarriorproject.org). Each branch of US Armed Services has created its own Wounded Warrior program and each of them promotes adaptive sports as an activity that they find valuable and wish to promote. The Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project (www.dsusa.org/pro-grams-wwdsp-about.html) is a part-nership between Disabled Sports USA, its chapters and the Wounded Warrior Project, providing year-round sports programs for severely wounded service members from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and the “Global War on Terrorism”.

A Paddling ParaGlossary: A Guide to Abbreviations, Organizations, & Terms in Adaptive Paddling

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