By Jody Jewers, Editor, The Sport Section
As chair of the Southwest Paddlers Association, Sandra Phinney monitors the club’s social media accounts from time to time. A post last year caught her eye.
“It was someone asking about whether we offered an adaptive paddling program,” says Phinney. “We didn’t really have anything formal at the time, so I reached out to a few people and brought it up at one of our monthly meetings and the interest seemed to be there.”
Phinney then began the legwork of reaching out to such groups as the Yarmouth Association for Community Residential Options (YACRO), Autism Nova Scotia’s Yarmouth chapter, Acadia First Nations, Aidaen’s Place Youth Support Hub, SHYFT Youth Services and the Easter Seals to gauge interest. She also connected with Sport Nova Scotia’s Regional Sport Consultant on the South Shore, who helped her successfully apply for funding through the Sport Fund to help with equipment. The association then began offering sessions on Lake Milo this summer.
“We did some presentations for these groups and they were really keen on being able to get in the water,” says Phinney. “Sport Nova Scotia had helped us with the construction of a Voyageur canoe a couple years ago and we had a trailer to transport it, so we were able to use that here and we were able to bring in canoes and kayaks and adaptive equipment for people to use.”
Phinney says training people to be able to use the equipment and to teach others proper techniques isn’t as difficult as it would first appear.
“It really has a lot to do with heart and being resourceful,” she explains. “It’s not a one size fits all when it comes to getting people into boating. Every person is so different, so just being open, resourceful and patient have been and will be the main criteria for getting people involved. We’ve had people out from ages 11 through to about 60.”
Phinney says safety is top priority, with someone on board the bigger boats and others in boats accompanying those who are in smaller canoes or kayaks. She noted that once participants have taken that first plunge in the water, the effect can be transformative.
“We had one person who had never been in the water before and was scared to go,” says Phinney. “It took a lot to get him to go in up to his waist. But we were able to convince him to do the trust fall where go you backward and we had someone there to catch him and help him just float in the water with a lifejacket on, and he was so shocked and amazed that he could do it. Now he can’t get enough of it and just wants to be out there every day.”
The association has met with every group that was involved this year and they will do their own internal debrief before beginning to plan for next year.
“I know every group wants to continue next year and some groups have even gone out on their own at times in August and September. It’s been a great success and hopefully we can find ways to make it better for next year.”
