PCAS IN THE NEWS
Hurricane Ida and PCAS
On Saturday, September 4th, a dozen volunteers from PCAS and nearly as many from the Dragon Boat community came to our boathouse to clean up and start our recovery from Hurricane Ida.
The intense rain from Ida caused widespread flooding, destruction of property, and loss of life in towns along the Schuylkill River and other waterways across the eastern US. Tornadoes ripped through the Delaware Valley to the northeast, destroying homes and uprooting trees. But our Philadelphia region was also hit hard by this storm, and we will remember it for years.
The Schuylkill River in Philadelphia rose to 16.35 feet, the second highest level ever recorded, a few inches short of 17 feet, which occurred in 1869. Our boathouse had 6 feet of water inside and the bike container took on 4 feet. Several Dragon Boats washed up against our front doors, and another one came to rest on the shore of the channel just below the boathouse. The floor of the boathouse was covered with mud, and many objects inside were tossed about by the flood waters.
The day after the flood, PCAS Executive Director Jeff McGinnis made a video and reported on the state of the boathouse, saying, “It will take time and resources to get us back together. I don’t see any major damage, so we are lucky.”
PROGRAM NEWS
High Performance Rowing
Frank Ganther with Coach Liz Euiler
Philadelphia Adaptive Rowing (PAR) High Performance Rowing is a program that recruits, trains and provides competitive racing opportunities to athletes with the goal of competing at the Paralympic level.
Having competitive club members participate in the Paralympics is not new to PAR. Formerly known as Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled or PRPD,
PAR was the first adapted rowing program in the US and one of the few worldwide when it started in 1980.
PRPD helped establish the first Paralympic rowing events at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games
While PAR has a rich history with the Paralympics and producing the first Paralympian athletes, we haven’t had a Paralympic athlete from our club for many years. But that will hopefully change in the near future. In 2021, PAR once again has an athlete rowing towards Paralympian goals. Our lone team representative, Frank Ganther, rowed on the water for the first time this year after training with Liz Euiler for 15 months as part of PAR’s virtual indoor rowing program. Frank competed against Row New York in the Schuylkill Navy Regatta and in the US National trials on the Cooper River in Camden this past July. Frank continues to train with the goal of representing Team USA at a future Paralympic event.
PAR’s coach Liz Euiler is essential to PAR’s renewed racing program. Coach Liz combines experience as an elite rower, a USA team member, and world rowing champion, having degrees in Kinesiology, experience working in a rehabilitation center, and in her current studies as a PhD Candidate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences – Biomechanics at Drexel University.
Liz said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to help get the high performance rowing program going! I’m looking forward to the continued development of the program and the opportunity to continue working with Frank and others to help them reach their goals!” With Liz’s help, all our rowers have the opportunity to reach their goals.
(Contributors: Andrea Pampaloni and Lynn McGillin)
PCAS at Junior Nationals
In its 37th year, the Move United Junior Nationals is the largest, longest standing annual multi-sport event in the United States for youth with a physical, visual, and/or intellectual impairment who are classifiable under the International Paralympic Committee’s classification system. The event has served as the training ground for some of the greatest Paralympic athletes in the United States.
This year, TEAM PCAS hosted their first ever “mini-meet” on the weekend of June 12th - 13th to qualify for the Junior Nationals in Colorado.
TEAM PCAS qualified, then attended the Junior Nationals in July, and came home champions. Coach Clayton said “We are so proud of Team PCAS who took home a LOT of medals! These amazing kids competed in swimming, triathlon, and track & field. They won second place in the nation in the Team Award, given to the top 5 teams overall based on points. Many had personal bests and some even broke national records!”
Team PCAS’s success was due to their hard work in the months leading up to the event. Not only did they train hard, but to cover travel expenses, they held an online fundraising campaign.
In addition to the competition, Move United provides educational and social opportunities to the athletes, parents, coaches, and officials. In an interview conducted by Move United, PCAS athlete, Ekow Opoku-Dakwa describes his experience, “I participate in sports because I find it fun, see improvements running, swimming, biking and see my friends. They make me feel happy and proud of myself.”
Not only did the PCAS team come home as champions, well positioned to continue their path to Paralympic competition, but they also bring home memories that will be with them for life.
(Contributor: Lynn McGillin)
PCAS PEOPLE - ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT
Frank Ganther
Frank Ganther’s first time rowing occurred in May of this year. By July he was competing with his eye on the Paralympics.
The PCAS High Performance Rowing program made it possible for him to take his training to the water, which was “a lot more complicated,” but, Frank says, he loved it. Since then, Frank has been training with Coach Liz Euiler, who commended Frank’s determination and abilities, saying,
“Frank is helping to pave the way for others here in Philadelphia who have dreams of making the National Team and Paralympics.”
Since May, Frank has raced in the Schuylkill Navy Regatta and the US National Trials, where he competed against Andrew Mangan, another PR1 classified rower, using a fixed seat with a back rest and a strap around the chest for safety. Although he came in second, he has developed a friendly rivalry with Andrew, and both men inspire each other to work harder. As Frank says, “Iron sharpens iron.”
He gives a lot of credit to his support team, whom he describes as “the best!” His dad goes with him to the dock “90% of the mornings” to help launch his boat. And he and his fiancé compare statistics on their Apple watches daily to see who has put in the greatest effort. They also cheer him on at his races, along with his mother and aunt who, justifiably, love to boast about his accomplishments.
Training for the World Championships was motivation for Frank’s training, and although he says this year’s cancellation “took the wind out of my sails”, nothing keeps Frank down for long. He is already looking ahead to winter, and skiing again. Last year he skied for the first time since his injury from a snowboarding accident and found it to be “liberating, just amazing to be back on a mountain.”
Frank encourages new athletes to be patient and “just enjoy it.” He appreciates the resources offered by PCAS and the generosity of supporters such as the Baiada family. He says it’s “a really unique opportunity for a lot of people in the country, maybe the world.” From what we’ve seen, Frank is certainly maximizing that opportunity.
(Contributor: Andrea Pampaloni)
