OPAF Hosts First Clinics

The Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund (OPAF) hosted three First clinics within the last month: a First Dive Intro to Scuba clinic in Lincoln, Nebraska; a First Volley tennis clinic for instructors and players in Salt Lake City, Utah; and a First Swing/Learn to Golf clinic in Durham, North Carolina.

First Dive

OPAF and Husker Divers, Lincoln, hosted a First Dive Intro to Scuba clinic on September 28. Joe Tyler, co-owner of Husker Divers and a certified adaptive scuba instructor, led the clinic with the assistance of his staff, three of whom are certified adaptive scuba buddies. Nine participants, whose disabilities included blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, brain injury, and paralysis, joined the three-hour clinic. Robin Burton, OPAF executive director, said, "This clinic was a tremendous success for both OPAF and Husker Divers. It gives this population the chance to try scuba and discover the wonderful opportunity that they may not have known is available to them."

First Volley

The First Volley clinic began with a bonus sessionan instructor-training session for Salt Lake City tennis coaches and teachers. The session, led by Burton and First Volley Director of Tennis, Darren Kindred, focused on tennis methodology and on training issues for people with amputations, stroke and brain injury survivors, children with cerebral palsy, and others with disabilities. It addressed adaptations for upper-limb amputees and wheelchair participants, plus issues of balance, direction change, and tennis biomechanics. The clinic also included a section on O&P terminology.

Burton commented, "This is uncharted ground for both OPAF and the USTA [United States Tennis Association].... USTA recognizes able-bodied tennis and wheelchair tennis. [People with disabilities have] been underserved, and we hope to change that going forward by helping the tennis-teaching population recognize that tennis is a game for everyone. We are working with USTA to develop curriculum and training materials so that First Volley can take the next step in growth across the country."

Instructor-training session participants were invited to stay for the First Volley clinic, which included 11 wheelchair players, some of them tournament-level players, who joined amputees for an afternoon of instruction in adaptive tennis. Employees of the Otto Bock Healthcare facility in Salt Lake City volunteered as ball chasers and extra hands, as did representatives of Intermountain Utah Tennis, Salt Lake City, and the University of Utah Rehab Center, Salt Lake City.

First Swing/Learn to Golf

In Durham, North Carolina, OPAF partnered with the National Amputee Golf Association (NAGA) and the Center for Orthotic and Prosthetic Care (COPC) at Duke University to hold a First Swing/Learn to Golf Clinic on October 10. NAGA First Swing instructors Gary Hooks and Dan Cox instructed 19 therapists, adaptive physical education instructors, O&P professionals, golf instructors, and physical therapy students in the particulars of adaptive golf at Duke's Center for Living. Their instruction covered the history of NAGA and included hands-on instruction of golf club grip and safety issues. Instructors and students worked on various aspects of golf swings and adaptations, then worked with more than 25 adults and children with disabilities during a three-hour session of one-on-one and group instruction in adaptive golf. Brad Clayton, who has an upper-limb amputation and is a Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America golfer and instructor, joined the clinic, along with four members of the Duke University women's golf team. Clayton and the Duke Ladies demonstrated their golf skills and drills for the crowd.

For information on hosting a First Clinic, contact OPAF, 215.752.5756; rlb@opfund.org

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