AARC Adaptive Summer Program
During the summer months (June- August) AARC provides on-water rowing opportunities for athletes with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. Athletes with limited use of their legs require a fixed seat and use upper body strength to propel the boat. The fixed seat modification is available in our small boats, which seat one or two people. This type of boat is moved with 2 oars, which is called sculling. The sculling adaptive program meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Athletes can row for 30 minutes to an hour, per the coach's discretion. Every athlete will require personalized modification of the boat, which can take up to 20 minutes, adding to the time of each individual session. While on the water, every boat is followed closely by the coach and volunteers. Each individual session is limited to only 1 or 2 boats, depending on available equipment and individual athlete needs. AARC refers to these small boat sessions as SciP (an acronym for sculling program).
Essential Eligibility Criteria for ScIP On-water rowing:
Rowing is an inherently complicated sport requiring listening to instructions from a coach in another boat, coordinating multiple body parts at once, and sitting in a boat on the water for 45-60 minutes per session.
- Participants must be aware of their surroundings, follow traffic patterns for training, and be able to respond appropriately to audible and visual commands from coaches and waterfront staff in case of emergency situations. [Participants must have cellphones stored during all portions of the practice.]
- Participants must have sufficient mobility to enter and exit a rowing shell safely and independently, or with very minimal assistance. Individuals who use a wheelchair must be able to transfer into/ out of a rowing shell independently or with minimal physical assistance. Assistance will be provided to stabilize rowing shell.
- Participants must be able to travel on a slightly paved incline to and from the boathouse to the dock or provide own adult assistance
- Participants should have basic water safety skills and be comfortable in the water in case of emergency situations. Despite swimming ability, all participants must wear a life vest while on the dock and within the shell.
- Participants should be aware of their medical conditions and able to manage them independently or ask for assistance appropriately.
Athletes who can use their legs while rowing will use standard rowing shells with pontoons added for additional stability. Generally, these are bigger boats, and rowers hold only oar. This is called sweep rowing. Sweep rowing requires participants to work together by placing and pushing their oar in synchronization with the other rowers.Sessions are held twice weekly, on Sunday mornings and Wednesday in the early evening. We refer to this as SwiP (acronym for sweep program.)
Essential Eligibility for SwIP On-water Rowing Training:
Rowing is an inherently complicated sport requiring listening to instructions from a coach in another boat, coordinating multiple body parts at once, and sitting in a boat on the water for 45-60 minutes per session.
- Participants need to understand and follow directions.Participants must be able to understand and respond to audible and/or visual instructions and commands provided by coaches and safety personnel.
- Participants must be comfortable having cellphones stored during all portions of the practice.
- Participants must have sufficient mobility to enter and exit a rowing shell safely and independently, or with very minimal assistance
- Participants must be able to regulate emotions, even when faced with new sensory experiences. Frequent sensations experienced during rowing may include heat, loud noises, group activities, unbalanced seating, wet hands as well.
Athletes applying to either of our Adaptive Programs will need to provide relevant medical documentation to help us tailor equipment and procedures to their specific needs. All medical information will be handled confidentially.