Racing in the first ever ICF sanctioned PaddleAbility events at the
European Canoe Sprint Championships, Team USA performed beyond
expectations. Congratulations to Team USA for their participation in
Milan. Job well done!
For results click
here.
The following athletes represented Team USA on May 15-18, 2008 in
Milan, Italy.
Tammy Jopson, Rochester, NY (“LTA” paddler with below knee
amputation)
- Teacher aide in Rochester area school district • Outrigger canoe
paddler since 2001; competitor in races in Maryland, California,
Massachusetts, Wisconsin, USCA Championships and annual Rochester
River Challenge Outrigger Canoe Sprint Races
- Member of team of mainland U.S. paddlers who competed in
exhibition outrigger canoe sprint races in 2004 IVF World Sprints and
2006 IVF World Sprints
- 2nd place winner of women’s V1 500-meter division in 2006 IVF
World sprints exhibition race in Hawaii
- Member of winning mixed team in V6 500-meter division in 2006 IVF
World Sprints in New Zealand Competitor in the solo women’s marathon
canoe races in Empire State Games for three years; paddled a
Jenson-190 to successfully compete against able-bodied women
Xavier Major, Rochester, NY (“A” paddler with spinal cord injury at
the T10 level)
- Engineering technician for FRA Engineering in Rochester, New York
- Outrigger canoe paddler since 1998; competitor in races in
Maryland, California, Massachusetts, USCA National Championships and
annual Rochester River Challenge Outrigger Canoe Sprint Races
- Wheelchair basketball player: National Wheelchair Basketball
Association (NWBA) * Rochester Wheels – 12th year (Center / Forward)
(1993 – 2005) & (2006 – Present) * Played: NWBA Buffalo Chariots - 2
years (2005 – 2006)
- Basketball coach for able-bodied youth teams in AAU, CYO, summer
leagues & church leagues; coached a team that participated in an
international basketball tournament in France in March of this year.
- ESL Jefferson Award Winner for Outstanding Community Service
Jan Whitaker, Rochester, NY (Volunteer Coach)
- Retired teacher of health and physical education United States
Canoe Association, Adaptive Paddling Chairman since 2001, prior
International Chairman and Youth Chairman; established exhibition
outrigger canoe sprint races and national championship sprint races
for paddlers with physical disabilities; established exhibition
outrigger canoe sprint races for paddlers with intellectual
disabilities
- International Va’a Association, member of Adaptive Paddling
Committee and 2008 paddler classification panel
- Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana, President; CAOO is an all volunteer
chapter of Disabled Sports USA, organized by Jan in 2005 with a focus
on paddle sports
- Empire State Games (New York State), State Chairman for masters
marathon canoe and kayak races for the past five years • USCA national
marathon canoe and sprint canoe champion in C-2 women’s, C-2 mixed and
C-1 classes
- USCA certified canoe instructor; helped developed the instructor
certification course • East Coast Outrigger Racing Association, coach
of 2008 IVF World Sprints Adaptive Paddling Team, a 6-man and 6-woman
team
- Coach of outrigger canoe team, composed of paddlers from mainland
United States, that competed in exhibition sprint races in 2004 IVF
World Sprints in Hilo, Hawaii and 2006 IVF World Sprints in Lake
Karapiro, New Zealand
- Author of numerous articles on adaptive paddling published in Kanu
Culture, Challenge Magazine, USCA’s Canoe News, currently writing an
adaptive outrigger canoe instructional manual
- Race director of the Rochester River Challenge Outrigger Canoe
Sprint Races (since 1997), an inclusive community event for paddlers
with and without physical and/or intellectual disabilities; the RRC
has been a Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports project event since 2005
- Jan has promoted outrigger canoeing as a potential Paralympic
Sport since 1997 and believes outrigger canoe is the best and most
dignified choice of canoe to showcase the abilities of paddlers with
disabilities. Outrigger canoes can accommodate paddlers with a wide
range of disabilities and include those from every major disability
group involved in Paralympic Sport.
Recently, CanoeKayak Canada, Canada’s National Governing Body for
paddlesports, hosted an International Conference in Montreal in an
effort to get more countries involved in the PaddleALL initiative and
working towards inclusion in the 2012 Paralympic Games program. The
participation of these athletes in Milan is a result of this conference
and a key step toward 2012 and inclusion of canoe/kayak on the
Paralympic program in London. USACK is working closely with CKC in
addition to other ICF Nations to continue lobbying for this to occur.
