Halifax Rowing Club (HRC) hosts Learn-to-Row Adaptive Workshop with Rebecca Orr
Ten participants from the three Halifax/Dartmouth rowing clubs and the Kennebecasis Rowing Club (Rothesay, New Brunswick) attended a 1.5 day learn-to-row (LTR) adaptive workshop at the Halifax Rowing Club on June 9 – 10, 2012. Adaptive rowing is sweep rowing or sculling for people with physical or intellectual disabilities/limitations
More information on Adaptive Rowing can be found at the Rowing Canada Aviron Website
We were fortunate to have Rebecca Orr, from the Argonauts Rowing Club (Toronto, Ontario), as our facilitator. Rebecca has been involved with adaptive rowing for many years, is one of two classifiers in Canada and coached the TA mixed double who competed in the Beijing Olympics. The TA category means that athletes use a fixed seat and only use their trunk and arms as they row. Rebecca’s practical knowledge allowed everyone who participated in the workshop to come away with an increased understanding of the needs of adaptive rowers and how best to instruct and coach them. They also reported that they now have the confidence to move forward with establishing or expanding the adaptive rowing programs in their respective clubs.
During the first day of the workshop participants spent time thinking about the importance of a good orientation to the boathouse and programs, as well as learning as much as possible about their athletes before getting on the water. The afternoon involved discussion about different types of ability and disability. This work prepared everyone for the high point of the workshop when, on Sunday morning, two athletes came to HRC to get on the water. This was an excellent experience for both the coaches and the athletes. One athlete, Jesse, had never rowed before and by the end of the morning she was out in a double. Trendal, the second athlete, had been on the water twice prior to the workshop. As such, he and the coaches were able to work on some new ideas for rigging and oar length to improve his rowing experience.
As a result of the workshop there are now four rowing clubs in Atlantic Canada with trained LTR Adaptive Coaches, opening up new opportunities for athletes. The workshop was supported by Rowing Canada Aviron, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Row NS. For more information, contact Katherine Harman.