People with mobility challenges may soon be able to head out on Powell River’s lakes and ocean for some stand-up paddle boarding.
Jordan Kerton from Access Revolution, the Canadian distributer of the Onit Ability Board, is currently touring BC. She is inviting people to give the adaptive stand-up paddle board system a go.
The system incorporates a stand-up board, an all-terrain surf chair, a custom ramp which allows the wheelchair user to roll onto the board unaided, and a mechanism to lock it securely in place. Outriggers on either side lend stability as the rider skims across the water’s surface. Advanced paddlers can remove the outriggers once they have mastered their balance on the board.
Kerton was at Mowat Bay in the afternoon of Sunday, September 21. A small group gathered at the shore to see how the Onit system works and Jody Copley was the first person to try it out on the water.
“I’m not a water baby, but I did like the adventure,” said Copley. She said she was interested in trying the system out after talking to Powell River Mobility Opportunities Society (PRMOS) founders CC Duncan and Raymond Lavoie about it. “Being on the water was pretty fantastic, and seeing what was in the water was equally as fantastic.”
Copley has used a wheelchair for the past eight years but also uses a walker. She does not swim so she wore a paddling personal floatation device while sitting in the surf chair.
“I do walk a little, I always have to hold on and it’s extremely slow,” she said. Gliding out on Mowat Bay “felt beautiful.”
Kerton saw the Onit system when it was unveiled this spring in Los Angeles at Abilities Expo, a trade show for adaptive equipment for people with mobility challenges and developmental delays. She knew she wanted to bring it to Canada.
“I just fell in love with the board immediately,” said Kerton, who also works with BC Mobility Opportunities Society. “I wouldn’t leave them alone and kept calling and emailing. Adaptive paddle boarding should be the norm for our communities.”
There’s hardly a sport now that people with mobility challenges are not able to be include in.
Stand-up paddle boarding is one of the fastest growing water sports in Canada. Part of the sport’s appeal, according to Ryan Barfoot, a veteran boarder, is its level of engagement.
“It’s a really good core workout,” he said. “You’re incredibly dynamic when you’re on the board, every muscle is engaged. I’ve paddled over coral reefs and it’s just amazing you can see all the beautiful colours of the reef and the fish.”
Duncan and Lavoie heard about the paddle board system and were able to see it in Vancouver earlier in the year.
The Onit system costs about $5,000 each and it’s something that Duncan said PRMOS may look at community fundraising to purchase.
“You couldn’t get a better spot—we’ve got the lakes, the ocean, the accessibility and the trailriders here,” she said. “If we could get one of these here it would be awesome because it would be well used.”
