Para oars

Oksana Masters and Rob Jones , bronze medalists in TAMix2x at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

As Para Rowing (formerly adaptive rowing , English para rowing ) is the practice of rowing by people with physical or mental disabilities referred. It does not matter whether the impairment or disability is congenital or acquired, temporary or permanent.

Rowing was discovered for people with disabilities from around 1980 and has been promoted in many projects since then. Para rowing by people with physical disabilities has been a Paralympic sport since 2005 .

history

The origins of para rowing go back several decades, especially in the USA. From the first races in Philadelphia between blind war veterans from the Second World War , the first programs for blind people developed under Ted Nash , 1960 Olympic champion in the four-man category. In 1980, there by the then chairman of the US Rowing Federation was USRowing , Chris Blackwall , the first club founded just for people with disabilities (Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled, PRPD). A year later, the first Bayada regatta for para rowers took place in Philadelphia, which still exists today and is the only regatta in the United States that only offers races for para rowers.

In Germany, the development of structures in para rowing began at the beginning of the 1990s, especially in the Berlin area, after people with disabilities had been doing rowing in popular sports for a long time . For this purpose, the association “Förderverein Wassersporthandicaps e. V. “with the help of the Landesruderverband Berlin and set up a handicap rowing department in some rowing clubs. The German Rowing Association is now an extraordinary member of the German Disabled Sports Association and supports para rowing with various programs. In Germany, too, there are regular competitions for para rowers in boats and on the ergometer.

The world rowing association FISA has also been running races for par-rowers as part of the rowing world championships since 2002 . In 2005 rowing was included in the canon of Paralympic sports by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) , which resulted in a significant leap in performance. The Paralympic competition distance was 1000 meters up to the 2016 season and was then adjusted to the Olympic competition distance of 2000 meters.

Special features of para rowing

Rowing is particularly suitable for people with disabilities for various reasons. The cyclical, not particularly fast sequence of movements is less prone to injury and uses a large part of the body's muscles. The need for exercise of many people with disabilities can be satisfied. Individual missing limbs or blindness do not pose a problem when performing the sport. Mentally handicapped rowers benefit from the fact that tactical influences do not play a role, especially in popular sports. Another advantage is that when rowing people with and without disabilities of both sexes and almost all ages can easily row in a team, which enables community experiences and the integration of disabled people into society.

Due to the various handicaps of para rowers, the help of other people is necessary in many places. Examples are launching boats, getting into the boat or steering on waterways and bodies of water in the case of blind rowers.

The rowing movement, which is basically very suitable for disabled sports, is coordinatively demanding due to the use of all body parts. In the case of weaknesses in the coordination or concentration abilities of the rowers, a significantly higher expenditure of time and increased demands on experienced training staff are to be expected.

Row boats and equipment

If the handicap of para rowers allows the use of conventional rowing boats , those with minor modifications may be used for para rowing . This mainly applies to the mass sport sector. In the case of more severe disabilities such as paraplegia , conventional rowing machines are no longer suitable for para rowing. That is why special boats have been developed that can also be used by paraplegics since the first para rowing at the 2002 World Rowing Championships and the 2008 Summer Paralympics .

The hull of these boats is built much wider than that of comparable conventional rowing boats to increase stability. Additional floats can be mounted under the booms for stabilization. The rolling seat is exchanged for a fixed seat with a short backrest, which also has belts to fix the rower to the seat. Since par-rowers perform a significantly shorter stroke of the oar in such boats, the achievable boat speeds are significantly lower than those of conventional rowing boats.

Racing rowing

Even if the main focus of para rowing is popular sport , the need for competitions quickly arose . Due to the differences in performance compared to non-disabled rowers, a joint start in identical age groups usually does not make sense, so that para rowing teams occasionally start with a special permit in runs of other age groups, which experience has shown to be roughly the same as their performance level. So rowing example LTAMix4 + crews of at the level of master's age group e .

Nevertheless, there are also regattas in Germany especially for para rowers with advertised races on the water and on the rowing ergometer . The largest parar rowing regatta is the annual Grünau summer regatta on the regatta course in Berlin-Grünau and since 2011 individual parar races have been held at the German championship rowing by the German Rowing Association .

FISA classification

At the international level at the World Rowing Championships and the Paralympic Regatta, the World Rowing Association FISA defines a classification system for various disabilities in the Adaptive Rowing Regulations , which regulates the right to start in international races. Only athletes who have proven their disability using the system at the World Rowing Federation are allowed to take part in these FISA competitions. The following classes are defined:

PR3 (formerly LTA - legs, upper body and arms)

The rowing movement can basically be carried out with the whole body (LTA means “legs, trunk, arms” from “legs, upper body, arms”). The LTA class is further subdivided into LTA-PD (physical disability) and LTA-B1 / B2 / B3 (blindness to severe visual impairment according to the International Blind Sports Federation ).

PR2 (formerly TA - upper body and arms)

The rowing movement is only performed with the upper body and the arms (TA means "trunk, arms" to German "upper body, arms"). The boat has a firm seat instead of the roll seat and the rower is fixed with straps at thigh height.

PR1 (formerly AS - arms and shoulders)

The rowing movement is only carried out with the arms and shoulders (AS means “arms, shoulders” from “arms, shoulders”). The boat has a firm seat instead of the rolling seat and the rower is fixed with straps at the level of the chest.

ID - intellectual disability

This class is created for rowers with intellectual disabilities (ID means "intellectual disability").

International boat classes

Since the introduction of world championship races in para rowing in 2002, the program of the competitions has been changed several times and, especially in the first two years of the event, different boat classes were tried out. The following boat classes have now established themselves in the program:

PR1-M1x (ASM1x)

ASM 1x

Male single for rowers of class PR1 (formerly AS). The athlete is fixed on the seat at chest level. Buoyancy devices under the booms and a minimum weight of the boat of 24 kg are required. The dimensions of the boat are not prescribed, but typically the width is around 46 cm at the waterline and the length is 6.32 m. The PR1-M1x has been part of the World Rowing Championships since 2003 and part of the Paralympic Regatta since 2008.

PR1-W1x (ASW1x)

Women's single for rowers in class PR1 (formerly AS). The rules and boat material correspond to those of the men in the PR1-M1x. The women's single has been part of the World Rowing Championships since 2006 and part of the Paralympic Regatta since 2008.

PR2-Mix2x (TAMix2x)

Mixed double sculls for rowers of class PR2 (formerly TA). The team consists of a female and a male member who are fixed with straps at thigh level. Floats under the booms are allowed, but not compulsory. Since they reduce the boat speed, the teams in the world championship races largely forego it. The minimum weight of the boat is 37 kg, dimensions are not specified. The width of the waterline is typically around 52 cm, the boat length 9.08 m. The PR2-Mix2x has been part of the rowing world championships since 2003 and part of the Paralympic regatta since 2008.

PR3-Mix2x (LTAMix2x)

Mixed double sculls for rowers of class PR3 (formerly LTA). The team consists of one female and one male member, with a maximum of one blind member being allowed to sit in the boat. The boat corresponds to that of a common double-twin . The PR3-Mix2x has been part of the rowing world championships since 2013, but is not part of the Paralympic regatta for the time being.

PR3-Mix4 + (LTAMix4 +)

Mixed foursome with helmsman in class PR3 (formerly LTA). The crew consists of two female and two male rowers and a helmsman of any gender who does not have to meet the requirements of class PR3. A maximum of two of the rowers are allowed to sit in the boat due to blindness (PR3-B1 / B2 / B3), so that at least two rowers with physical disabilities (PR3-PD) belong to the team. ID-classified rowers with intellectual disabilities are not permitted. The boat in this class is identical to the material in the conventional four-seater with a helmsman , which only has a minimum weight of 51 kg. The PR3-Mix4 + has been part of the World Rowing Championships since 2004 and part of the Paralympic Regatta since 2008. In the course of a test measure, the route length for this boat class at the 2005 World Rowing Championships was a unique 2000 meters. The length of the course was then adjusted back to the length of 1000 meters that was customary in para rowing, but was then redefined as the "Paralympic distance".

IDMix4 +

Mixed foursome with helmsman of class ID. This class was sometimes referred to as LTAIDMix4 + or LTAID4 +. The crew consists of two female and two male rowers and a helmsman of any gender who is not allowed to meet the requirements of class ID. The boat in this class is identical to the material in the conventional four-seater with a helmsman, which only has a minimum weight of 51 kg. The IDMix4 + class was used at the World Rowing Championships from 2009 to 2011 and then removed from the program by the World Rowing Association. The reasons are the weak participation in the World Championship races held between 2009 and 2011, in which no preliminary decisions were necessary, and the decision of the International Paralympic Committee not to accept this class for the 2016 Summer Paralympics . The IDMix4 + was never part of the Paralympic Regatta in the past.

Security aspects

As in general rowing, the swimming ability of all people in the boat is an important safety criterion in para rowing . In the event of capsizing, everyone must be able to stay afloat by themselves.

It can be difficult to get out of the overturned boat during para rowing if the rowers have to be fixed to the seat. While in general rowing the rowers are only fixed at their feet on the stretcher in the boat, the handicap of pararowerers can make further, sometimes considerable, fixations on the boat and on the sculls or oars necessary. In the competition classes AS-M1x, AS-W1x and TA-Mix2x, for example, the rowers are attached to the seat with up to three straps. The exit must therefore be practiced several times at the beginning of the rowing training, whereby the special needs of each pararower must be addressed separately. The handles required to release the fixation, which are necessary for a quick exit, can be carried out with hands or the mouth and are standardized.

See also

Portal: Rowing  - Overview of Wikipedia content on rowing

Web links

Commons : Rowing at the Paralympics 2012  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Para rowing in the World Rowing Association (English)
• Para rowing in the German Rowing Association
• Handicap rowing in the state rowing association Berlin
• Förderverein Wassersporthandicaps e. V.
• Handicap rowing in Westphalia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Para rowing - rowing for people with disabilities. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 29, 2016 ; Retrieved May 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Volker Nolte: Rowing Faster. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2011, ISBN 978-0-7360-9040-7 , p. 198.
3. ↑ Volker Nolte: Rowing Faster. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2011, ISBN 978-0-7360-9040-7 , p. 197.
4. ↑ All about adaptive rowing. (No longer available online.) In: www.rowersworld.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012 ; accessed on December 1, 2012 . 
5. ↑ BAYADA regatta. Retrieved February 8, 2016 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Volker Nolte: Rowing Faster. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2011, ISBN 978-0-7360-9040-7 , p. 206.
7. ↑ Water sports handicaps history. Retrieved December 1, 2012 . 
8. ^ German Disabled Sports Association - National Paralympic Committee Germany, member associations. Retrieved December 1, 2012 . 
9. ↑ ^{a b} Water sports handicaps competitions. Retrieved December 1, 2012 . 
10. ↑ 2017 FISA Extraordinary Congress concludes. In: www.worldrowing.com. World Rowing Association, February 11, 2017, accessed on February 12, 2017 (English). 
11. ↑ ^{a b} Handicap rowing group Westphalia: Why handicap rowing? Retrieved December 1, 2012 . 
12. ^ German Rowing Association: Rowing - A new Paralympic sport. (PDF; 1.9 MB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 9, 2013 ; Retrieved December 1, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ ^{a b} Volker Nolte: Rowing Faster. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2011, ISBN 978-0-7360-9040-7 , pp. 198 f.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Handicap single A1x with picture at the Empacher boatyard. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 7, 2013 ; Retrieved December 1, 2012 . 
15. ↑ Volker Nolte: Rowing Faster. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2011, ISBN 978-0-7360-9040-7 , pp. 204 f.
16. ↑ Rowing competition rules (RWR) of the German Rowing Association; valid from January 1, 2016. (PDF; 666 kB) (No longer available online.) In: www.rudern.de. German Rowing Association, archived from the original on April 29, 2016 ; Retrieved April 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} 2011 FISA Adaptive Rowing Regulations. (PDF; 68 kB) Accessed December 1, 2012 (English). 
18. ↑ Data on the handicap double. Empacher shipyard , accessed February 8, 2016 . 
19. ^ Event Regulations and / or Departures from the FISA Rules of Racing; Para-Rowing Competition Regulations 2013. World Rowing Association , accessed October 24, 2013 . 
20. ↑ German Rowing Association: Paralympic program will not be expanded. Retrieved December 2, 2012 . 
21. ↑ Volker Nolte: Rowing Faster. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2011, ISBN 978-0-7360-9040-7 , pp. 201 f.