FREE Adaptive Kayaking Registration
Are you a member of PossAbilities and/or a Veteran? You can learn how to kayak. FREE to members of PossAbilities with a disability ages 18 and older.
WHEN: Each Monday 7:00pm to 9:30pm from April 14th – June 2nd (8 sessions).
WHERE: Loma Linda University Drayson Center Pool. Located at 25040 Stewart Street, Loma Linda, CA. 92354.
Download FLYER here!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER? Call Lauren Burke-Hodge at (909) 558-6384.
Participants must:
- Be 18 years or older or accompanied by an adult
- Be able to follow and execute 3 part instructions
- Be able to manage all personal care and mobility independently or with the assistance of a companion who accompanies the participant
- Be comfortable in the water including: floating on back independently with a properly fitted PFD, turning from face down to face up independently while wearing a properly fitted PFD, and holding breath while under water for at least 15 seconds.
- Be able to maintain a balanced, upright position while seated in a kayak, with adaptations if needed. **NOTE** No adaptations providing head or neck support will be accepted
- Be able to get in and out of a kayak independently or with the assistance of a companion, following instruction.
- Be able to wet exit a kayak independently
- Be able to re-enter a sea-kayak or sit on-top kayak following a capsize with the assistance of one other boat. Any additional assistance, if required must come from a companion who accompanies the participant.
A general course progression is:
- Introduction to water safety and personal accountability
- Introduction to whitewater kayaks and associated equipment
- Learning to exit a capsized kayak in a safe and controlled manner
- Basic kayak strokes
- Righting a kayak either through an assisted recovery or using an eskimo roll
- An outing either to the Kern river or the ocean, putting together and using new skills
The general course format is:
1 evening meeting per week each 1.5 – 2 hours long, 6-8 weeks in duration. The expectation is that participants attend every session. Volunteers match up with paddlers to provide 1 to 1 or if necessary 2 to 1 support. Paddlers “gear up,” organizing and adjusting the equipment they’ll be using and enter the heated pool as a group. An instructor will introduce a new topic or skill, and the students and volunteers will work on mastering the skill together. Games are used to incorporate or re-enforcing skills previously learned. At the end of the pool session, paddlers rinse and help store the equipment they’ve used.
For more information contact the PossAbilities office at (909) 558-6384.
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