Kayaking is one of the events at the Adaptive Sports & Recreation Expo.
Dozens of Iowans with disabilities will be introduced to a wealth of opportunities and options at a special event this weekend in central Iowa.
Angie Plager, president of the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Iowa, says the Adaptive Sports & Recreation Expo gives people on crutches or in wheelchairs a chance to break boundaries by doing things they may not have thought were possible.
“It’s really neat to see how excited people get,” Plager says. “They’re just like, ‘This is awesome!’ and that’s why we do it. You can get out and access life and live it and have a good time and not have to always worry and focus on your medical aspects of life.”
The free, one-day event is being held on Saturday at Easter Seals Camp Sunnyside, north of Des Moines. Plager says, “Our goal is to bring together a lot of sports and recreation opportunities to improve the quality of life of our members.”
A former Ms. Wheelchair Iowa, Plager was injured in a 2003 car accident that left her a quadriplegic. She says there will be a variety of sports and activities for people with spinal injuries to try out, all of which have been adapted to accommodate them. Plager says, “We have hand cycling, kayaking, bowling, hunting, fishing, bocce ball, accessible pinball, sewing, just all kinds of things we think our members will find interesting and fun.” Watching someone ride a bike or paddle a kayak for the first time in years, decades for some, is so “incredible,” she says.
This is the association’s 10th annual event. For more information, visit the Adaptive Sports & Recreation Expo page on Facebook or call (515) 309-0727.