Row New York Coaches Isake Smith and Adam Berger have kicked off a series of twelve adaptive rowing sessions empowering the women of NYU’s Initiative for Women with Disabilities. The pair will lead their thirteen registered participants in an adaptive learn-to-row program to boost their self-confidence and promote fitness.
Located in Manhattan, NYU’s Initiative for Women with Disabilities (IWD) provides health and wellness care for women and adolescent girls with physical disabilities. The center collaborates with Row New York to offer these unique adaptive rowing classes, only a few of which exist nationwide.
The program begins on land, at NYU, using specially equipped rowing machines. The program then moves to Queens’ Meadow Lake, where specialized seats and barges made for rowers with special needs and mobility challenges keep them safe and enable their experience of rowing’s freedom and power. For many participants, rowing is a novelty that provides a chance to master a new sport and raise their own self-expectations. Once on the water, adaptive rowers find a level playing field and tackle life on an equal basis.
On Friday, January 6, Coaches Isake and Adam greeted their participants, ran warm-up exercises, taught erging terminology, and coached the participants’ erging technique. The women responded with eagerness and energy.
Row New York is pleased to partner with NYU’s IWD to run this empowering program.
