Who can be an adaptive rower?

The NRCE is currently looking for potential high performance adaptive rowers.

Adaptive rowing has been an official event in the World Championship program since 2002 but how many coaches know who would be able to compete as an adaptive rower?

Many adaptive rowers have minor disabilities that would not prevent them from being able to train and compete actively in any rowing club. One member of the adaptive LTA4+ at the 2009 World Championships, Alex Green, has competed as part of University of NSW Rowing Club crews at the University Games for the past two years.

Classification guidelines for adaptive rowing consider a range of disabilities that would inhibit an athlete from competing at an equal level to athletes without a disability. The type of disabilities or injuries that might be considered for adaptive rowing include:  Amputations. This can be an amputation of the foot at or above the tarsal/metatarsal joint or a loss of three fingers on one hand  A permanent and measurable loss of strength and/or flexion on one or more limbs.  A loss of coordination due a neurological condition  Paraplegia  Cerebral palsy  Multiple sclerosis  Vision impairment  Intellectual impairment.

To compete nationally or internationally in adaptive rowing, an adaptive rower needs to be classified. For athletes other than those with a visual impairment or intellectual impairment, this involves a medical evaluation to determine that they have a minimal disability to be classified as an adaptive rower and a technical evaluation to determine their classification.

The international classifications for adaptive rowing are:

LTA LTA rowers have the use of their legs, trunk and arms and can effectively use the sliding seat. It includes athletes with a physical disability (LTA-PD) and athletes with a visual impairment (LTA- B1, LTA-B2 and LTA-B3). B1, B2 and B3 indicate the severity of the visual impairment with B1 being the highest level.

TA This class is for rowers who have trunk movement and who are unable to use the sliding seat to propel the boat because of significant weakness in the lower limbs.

AS This class is for rowers who have no or minimal trunk function (i.e. shoulder function only). An AS class rower is able to apply force predominantly using the arms and/or shoulders.

ID Rowers with an intellectual disability.

For more information on classifications for adaptive rowing visit http://www.rowingaustralia.com.au/dev_adaptive-rowing_classification.shtm