
A First Paddle Adaptive Kayak participant receives instructions from volunteers. Photograph courtesy of OPAF.
First Paddle Adaptive Kayaking is the latest addition to the “First” clinics for Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund (OPAF). First Paddle successfully launched its maiden voyage at the Michael Jones Pool facilities at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti. The event, which was sponsored by Special Opportunities in Advanced Rehabilitation (SOAR), was led by American Canoe Association certified instructors and kayaking-enthusiast volunteers, according to an OPAF press release.
Participants received adaptive-kayak instructions and spent time with others facing similar physical challenges.
Capital City SCUBA, Lansing, Michigan, along with OPAF, and the Dive Pirates organization hosted a First Dive Intro to SCUBA clinic the same weekend as First Paddle. Eight participants who had experienced limb loss or low-level spinal cord injuries (SCI) spent an afternoon of adaptive SCUBA in the Williamston High School, Michigan, pool facilities.
Stacey Minton, OPAF’s First Dive director, described the action as a great afternoon. She added that the clinic ended only because “they ran out of air and had to get out of the pool!”
For more information, contact OPAF at [email protected] or 319.235.4318.