Last month I completed my first American Canoe Association (ACA) Adaptive Paddling Workshop in Washington State hosted by Adaptive Expeditions, REI, and the ACA. This three-day workshop aimed to provide an introduction to the information necessary to seamlessly integrate individuals with physical disabilities into outdoor recreation programs in the context of paddlesports. It also served as an Instructor Endorsement for my existing ACA certifications to broaden the audience I can teach. We covered appropriate language, etiquette, and interaction to utilize when supporting adaptive paddlesports instruction. We developed an understanding around the legal context. And lastly we explored adaptive outfitting concepts and goals, the mechanics of existing adaptive outfitting solutions, and methods for building our own systems through hands-on learning.

I deeply care that everyone have an equitable opportunity to bring paddlesports into their lives. Getting introduced to paddling in my 20’s had a transformative effect on my life and I want others to experience the same. I also want to be a better and more inclusive kayak instructor. I’m so thankful for the facilitators of the ACA Adaptive Paddling Workshop (Joe and Jeremy) for helping me along on this journey. I feel I have so much to learn in this area and I’m excited to learn more!

We explored existing solutions for adapting paddles and kayaks to fulfill the needs of a paddler with a physical disability. These innovations opened my mind to a much broader audience that could be paddling with increased affordability, access, and availability of these solutions. Paddlers could utilize 1) the back-of-hand paddle adaptations to relieve the stress of holding a paddle, 2) the paddle pivot to allow one-arm control of the kayak and provide the weight of the paddle from the paddler’s arms, or 3) the wrist grips paddle adaptations for people who have no ability to grasp. With all these solutions, safety was top-of-mind to provide a quick-release. There were a lot of “Wow, that’s awesome” moments while viewing the paddle adaptive tools.

Later in the workshop, I was personally intimidated by outfitting a kayak from scratch. I didn’t have much experience working with foam beyond adding shims to hip pads or changing out a seat, but I had a great team with a can-do attitude. In this workshop, we removed all the outfitting from a recreational kayak and built an entire outfitting system from scratch using multiple types of foam, gorilla tape, measuring tape, float bags, and a variety of cutting tools. I teamed up with fellow workshop attendees and our participant Nate to design and construct custom kayak outfitting in 3 hours to support Nate’s incredible stoke to go paddling and T-4 spinal injury. Nate wow’d me with his epic tales about his swimming career, having swam from Alcatraz, around Golden Gate, and across the Columbia River.

We started with using structural foam to mold a new seat that would help to support proper posture and wrapped it in soft foam to provide plushy comfort. We learned about seat and wheelchair design, dump angles, and back supports that would need to be in place to maintain proper posture. It took a few iterations to get it right but we were all quite impressed with the end result and how comfortable the kayak was to sit in. We cleverly utilize float bags to provide both support as well as safety in case of a capsize.

We had a kayak leveraging foot support with foot pegs and transformed it into having a full foam bulkhead. This would be a safer system and prevent any unintended snags of feet. We utilized solder wire to approximate the size of the bulkhead, which was a clever technique. We added some soft foam flooring to add to the comfort. Pipe insulation worked as an effective wrap for the cockpit rim to better support transfers. This kayak was so luxurious after we were done with it that we all started to brainstorm how to improve our own kayaks after the class. It also felt incredibly safe, which was a top priority for us.

On the final day of the workshop, we traveled to the Bellevue Aquatic Center to test drive our kayaks and learn essential in-water and kayak skills for individuals with physical disabilities, particularly spinal cord injuries. We were thankful to see that our kayak outfitting survived being on a roof rack at interstate speeds. The in-water skills included learning more about float vests and methods for turning from face-down to face-up with subtle movements of the head and body. Next we covered wet exits from kayaks and finally how to re-enter the kayak through a Scoop rescue.

I’ve performed and taught the Scoop rescue several times over the course of my kayak teaching career but I never fathomed I’d perform the rescue for a paddler with a spinal cord injury. Would the Scoop method be effective? Would I be a good enough rescuer? Nate and I teamed up to be the first to test out the Scoop rescue technique, in which the workshop facilitators guided us through some best practices. We rotated the kayak cockpit beyond perpendicular with the water to make it easier to float your legs and hips into the cockpit. We made sure to get the swimmer seated before beginning the kayak rotation to return the kayak to being flat on the water. We were successful in executing the 1st rescue quickly and smoothly. We both looked at each other in amazement witnessing what seemed “impossible” being quite possible and certainly repeatable. Celebration!

Once done with the rescue segment, Nate zoomed around the pool in our kayak with team-built outfitting and then each of us took a turn as well. It reminded me the importance of just having fun while teaching kayaking. Yes, there’s a lot of skills to learn but there’s also the importance of building the stoke for the sport. Prior to this workshop, I would never have imagined people with spinal cord injuries going kayaking, let alone zooming around the pool, executing rescues, and doing so with good posture. No, we didn’t perfect our outfitting but we started a new learning journey. My eyes were opened to reality and I became filled with a passion to spend more time working with underrepresented communities in paddling and improving my skills as a kayaking educator to better support those communities.

In conclusion, if you see an opportunity to take an Adaptive Paddling Workshop, I highly recommend it. Thank you to all the wonderful organizations like Adaptive Expeditions, REI, ACA, Outdoors for All, Team Riverrunner, and so many more who help to provide these opportunities to grow the sport and spread the stoke for paddling. I hope that we can all work together to eliminate the barriers preventing people from getting on the water, building a more inclusive paddling community, and transforming more lives through the power of water. This sport motivated me to lead a happier and healthier life, and I hope it’ll do the same for you and others in our community.