The para-rowing program uses specialized equipment to get disabled rowers out on Glenmore Reservoir.

Colette Benko wasn’t thinking about rowing when she had a cancerous tumour removed from her leg two years ago. But after the surgery left her with little feeling in one leg, the 15–year-old found herself thinking about rowing a lot more.

“It took me a while to get into it, because I had to go through a few surgeries, bed rest and everything, but then I finally joined rowing and the junior program, and I was asking about para, if I fit in, would I classify, and then I found out yah, you can row with the para people, so it's great!” she said.

It’s a similar feeling for Greg Sadler, who ended up in a wheelchair after a bicycle crash 15 years ago.

“Rowing is fantastic exercise for everybody who does it, whether it’s a para-situation or not, but for me, it’s an individual sport because I am rowing a boat that’s a single,” he said. “It’s great exercise, it’s fun, you are surrounded by good people, and it’s a really technical sport too, so there is a lot of room to learn and grow and do better against yourself and set goals, so it’s fantastic.”

Sadler rows a modified boat with small pontoons so it can’t tip over, and a backrest and straps to hold him in place. It’s a demanding sport, as Sadler can only use his arms and shoulders, but that hardly slows him down. The options are also attracting a lot of new people to the sport.

“This program has been here for four years and is continuing to grow, we have more athletes here this year than we’ve had in any of our past seasons so there is a bright future for para-rowing in Calgary right now and its exciting for everybody involved for sure,” said Sadler.

The program was set up by Shannon Harvey, who coached in the para-lympics, and is now run by Gillian Waugh.

“My favorite thing to see is when they get that ah-ha click, and 'I am moving so fast, this is amazing' and you can see that they feel so great and they're doing what they really enjoy, and it makes me really happy to provide that for them,” said Waugh.

Many para-rowers are doing it for fun, but a number are getting into the competitive spirit as well.

You can learn more about para-rowing on the Calgary Rowing Club website.