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38 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009 Adaptive athletes paddling onto international scene By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF ayne MacDonald remembers listening to a presentation by Kelly Smith, the silver medalist in the 2004 Paralympic marathon. "It would be amazing to be an Olympian in my lifetime," MacDonald said to him afterward. "Don't discount it," was Smith's reply. MacDonald had never been one to set limits on himself. Despite being a paraplegic since falling off a roof while working in 1999, MacDonald has continued to be active -- mountain biking, scuba diving, sledge hockey and sky diving are among his pursuits. Still, in his earlier 40s, MacDonald had his doubts. Now that dream is not so farfetched. MacDonald and fellow Wai Nui O Kanaka Outrigger Club member Adrienne Skinner will represent Canada at the World CanoeKayak Championships in Dartmouth, N.S. later this month. It will be the first world championships to include races for adaptive athletes. And, with a push on for canoe and kayak to be included in future Paralympic Games, MacDonald and Skinner could find themselves on sport's biggest stage. Proving ability and independence "I never thought I'd be doing this," said Skinner, who lost her leg in an auto accident when she was three. "I signed on to help get the program going, not to go to the world championships. But going and representing Canada, everyone will see what people who have disabilities can do, that they are strong athletes and they are independent." The program Skinner speaks of is PaddleALL, an inclusive program that aims to "make sure there is access (to paddling) for people of all ages and abilities," said Wai Nui commodore Wendy Perkins. W Perkins said while some people are initially a little fearful of going on the water, they are quickly hooked once they try it. "We had one girl who wouldn't even get out of the car for the first few weeks," Perkins said. "Then she came down to the dock, then she got in a boat, now she's one of our lead strokers." Skinner has been kayaking for 11 years. She competed in the first international race for adaptive paddlers, earning a silver medal in K1 (kayak singles). She believes that experience will help her at worlds. "I know what to expect, although this will be on a grand scale," she said. Always fond of sports -- she swam competitively as a kid -- Skinner stumbled across Wai Nui, which makes its home on Sixteen Mile Creek, on the docks under the Rebecca Street bridge, while looking for a place to store her kayak. She has since taken an active role in PaddleALL, taking up where Mina Mettinen left off. Mettinen has ALS and, although she is no longer able to paddle, her work in establishing the program was vital. "She inspired us to keep going," Perkins said. While it was Smith's presentation that planted the seed of competing for his country, it was MacDonald's own presentation that led him to paddling. In the audience, as he was "rhyming off all the crazy things I had done" to a group of students, was Larry Cain. The Olympic gold-medal winning canoeist approached MacDonald afterward and asked him if he had ever tried paddling and gave him PHOTOS BY JON CURRIE / OAKVILLE BEAVER a contact for Wai Nui. MAKING PADDLING HISTORY: Wai Nui O Kanaka Canoe Club adaptive paddlers Adrienne Now MacDonald is in awe of where that Skinner (left) and Wayne MacDonald (right), pictured with coaches Wendy Perkins and Rich Carson, chance meeting has led him. will represent Canada at the World Canoe/Kayak Championships later this month in Nova Scotia. This "This is history. We're the first disabled is the first year adaptive paddling will be contested at the world championships. (paddling) team to be recognized at the nationAnd Perkins is in awe of her club's two stars, "You watch somebody like Wayne or al level," he said. "I'm pretty proud that I get to be involved in something this big and to be who will no doubt inspire others to take a leap Adrienne grab life and embrace it," Perkins of faith and try something new. said. "It's inspirational." involved in the first ever."