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History and Facts about
Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana
Cape
Ability Outrigger Ohana, Inc. is a non profit 501(c
)(3) organization founded by Jan
Whitaker,
United States Canoe Association’s Adaptive Paddling
Chairperson, who brought
the sport of outrigger canoeing to Rochester, New York in 1997. Jan is
a member
of the International Va’a (Outrigger Canoe)
Federation’s (IVF) Adaptive Paddling
Committee. Jan is a United States Canoe Association national sprint and
marathon canoe race champion and a recipient of the 2004 ESL
Jefferson Award for
outstanding public service, The Regional
Center for Independent Living’s 2004 ADA Compliance Victory
Award and a two-time
recipient of USCA’S Canoeist of the Year Award.
Cape Ability
Outrigger Ohana, Inc. is a chapter of Disabled
Sports USA and is listed as such on the DS/USA web site:
www.dsusa.org. Disabled
Sports USA was founded in 1967 by disabled Vietnam
veterans. DS/USA provides
opportunities 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
organization serving more
than 60,000 people nationwide. DS/ USA,
a member of the U.S. Olympic
Committee, conducts training camps and competitions to prepare athletes
for the
Paralympic Games. DS/USA offers sports rehabilitation programs through
its
nationwide network of over 80 community-based chapters.
Cape Ability
Outrigger Ohana, Inc. has no salaried employees. Certified instructors
provide
inclusive outrigger canoe programs and services for paddlers with and
without
physical and/or intellectual disabilities on a voluntary basis.
Cape Ability
Outrigger Ohana’s President and pioneer paddlers:
1) Were
instrumental in establishing a permanent outrigger canoe program in
Maryland for members of the
United States Military Services
in rehabilitation programs at Walter
Reed Army
Medical Center
and Bethesda
Naval
Center.
2) Pioneered
international exhibition competition for paddlers with physical or
intellectual
disabilities at sanctioned IVF World Sprint races in Hilo,
Hawaii in
2004 and Lake
Karapiro, New
Zealand
in 2006. As a result of these exhibition races, the IVF will offer
these
classes as World Sprint Race Championship events for the first time
ever in Sacramento,
California
in 2008.
3) Created
the first-of-its-kind outrigger canoe program in the country for
paddlers with
intellectual disabilities. The program is offered in Rochester
and Buffalo;
it
included over 75 participants in 2005.
In
2004, we organized the participation of two teams of paddlers with
intellectual
disabilities in exhibition races at 2004 USA Canoe/Kayak Olympic Trials
in Oakland,
Ca.
4) Established
exhibition outrigger canoe races for paddlers with physical
disabilities at
United States Canoe Association National Championships from 2001 to
2004. In 2005,
these races were elevated to USCA National
Championship Classes.
5) Provided
physical and logistical support for Peter Crowley’s solo
outrigger canoe
journey from Albany
to New York City on
the Hudson River
in
1999. Peter’s achievement, as the first paddler without sight
to complete this
journey, was captured on live TV by Good Morning America
as he entered Chelsea Piers.
6) Partnered
with a canoe manufacturer in Maine
to design the first modified seat system available in outrigger canoes
in an
effort to offer this sport to all people.
We also created the use of a safety ama, a
stabilizing float attached to
the outrigger canoe to prevent it from capsizing. This provided for
safe
paddling for individuals with disabilities.
7) Were
instrumental in the creation of the Rochester River Challenge in 1997,
a race
that has grown from a small, local, community festival to become the
largest outrigger
canoe race on the east coast of the United States.
It is an inclusive
community event that attracts a diverse group of people of all ages and
abilities and has brought recognition to
Rochester
as the birthplace of team outrigger canoe racing for people with
disabilities.
8)
Have been recognized and featured in the following publications:
·
Kanu
Culture, Planet Outrigger’s Handbook, Vol 6, “The
Joy of Paddling for the Physically (Dis)Abled”
by Jan
Whitaker (Spring, 2000) – Batinin Books, Australia
and Vol 5,
“Outrigger Canoeing for the Physically Disabled”
by Jan Whitaker (1999)
· Disability
Sport and Recreation Resources,
3rd edition, Cooper Publishing Group, ISBN
1884125751, Michael
Paciorek: this is the first reference to the sport of outrigger
canoeing in
such a publication.
· Canoe
and Kayak Magazine, March 2000. “Blind Paddler’s
Outrigger River Challenge”
· Canoe
and Kayak Magazine, May, 2002, “At Water’s Edge by
Amy Poffenbarger, pp. 67-70.
· Challenge
Magazine, a publication of Disabled
Sports USA, Summer. 2002, “Outrigger Canoeing Paddles Towards
the Paralympics”
by Ellen Handa,
pp.19-21
· Challenge
Magazine, a publication of Disabled
Sports USA, Spring, 2003. “Please Be Seated in an Outrigger
Canoe”, by Jan
Whitaker, pp 32-33
· Pacific
Paddler Magazine, December, 2001, “Paddlers with disabilities
take on canoeing”
by Ellen Handa
9) Assisted
in the establishment of national/international outrigger canoe programs
in Hawaii, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, Illinois,
New
York, Florida,
Canada,
England,
Cook Islands, New Zealand
and Italy.
We inspired the movement for inclusion of the sport of outrigger
canoeing in Paralympic
Games. The Paralympics are the second largest sporting event in the
world
following the Olympics.
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