3 Ways to Play Paddle Sports for Handicapped Athletes

1. Acquire Supplies Needed to Participate in Paddle Sports

You can begin your paddle sports experience when you find the right equipment to meet event regulations. The essential item needed for a disabled person to participate in paddle sports like kayaking is a specially designed paddle. These paddles have been developed to wrap around the athlete's arms to ensure motor control in both smooth and rough waters. The Special Olympics organizing committee supplies simple paddles which can be a saving grace for your team if you lack funding.
Your protection on the water depends on flotation devices and a durable plastic helmet. A flotation vest secured tightly around your torso keeps you safe if your kayak or canoe flips over. A set of arm and wrist floats are also suggested if your motor abilities are limited. Most events require helmets and flotation vests before hitting the water, in order to limit their liability for athlete injury.

2. Maintaining Proper Behavior in Water

There are several rules that you need to follow when performing in paddle sport events. Paddle sport organizers use signal flags and loud sounds to start each race. These tools are used to ensure that blind, deaf and cognitively disabled competitors have a fair shot at a quick start.
You need to stay within lane barriers during kayaking events to avoid disqualification. These barriers resemble swimming pool lanes with floating markers that maintain order in uneven waters. Practice sessions in a local high school pool with individual lanes will help you learn to maintain control while paddling.
A final rule that is crucial to success in paddle sports is coaching decorum during a race. Your coach can help you enter and exit your kayak before playing paddle sports. Coaches need to stay outside the barriers to the water course to avoid unfair assistance during highly competitive races.

3. Select Proper Paddle Sport Events

There are multiple divisions in paddle sport events that allow athletes with differing disabilities to compete. The Special Olympics offers multiple distances and kayaking types for paddle sports competitors. You can compete in singles kayaking to show off your individual skill and team up with another kayaker for the doubles event. The 200-meter distance is ideal for strong kayakers capable of sprinting and the 500-meter distance is geared toward competitors with high endurance levels. Your skill level in paddle sports will increase if you play several different kinds of events early in your competitive career.