[Akron-Talk] event

[Dave Bertsch]

All, this came from Dr. Reed, who asked me to share it. Looks like an interesting, exciting event this weekend to watch or even be part of. For those of us who sink and don't swim, a nice chair near the water where I can cheer on the brave, will suit me just fine. Here is the message.

Hi Doctor Reed,

I am part of an organization called Team River Runner (TRR) that works with disabled Veterans to get them on the water kayaking. TRR is a national organization and we work with all kinds of physically disabled individuals. This includes people who are visually impaired. We were just informed that we will be testing a very new system that is still being developed to guide visually impaired kayakers through a slalom kayak course and we want to invite local people who have visual impairments to come test it out with us.

The event is the " Veterans Kayak Football Challenge" and this is our fifth year. We actually have a football tournament on flat water in kayaks. It takes place on Sunday August 11th from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM at Willowdale Lake in Jackson Township, very near Akron Canton Airport. We have worked with all kinds of disabilities and we even have a team called "The Blind B#$*#%*#'s. The event is very safe as it takes place on flat water and we provide all the equipment.

We have several Veterans coming who are blind but we always open up the day up to any individual with a disability. We would love to invite local people who are visually impaired to come down and try out this newly developed system. It consist of four buoys and uses sound to guide the kayaker through a course without a guide kayaker. The system has only been tested twice before, once in Oklahoma and once in Maryland. We will not be doing a slalom course, because we're on flat water, but want as many individuals as possible to test for us what they think. We will have safety kayakers on the water as well as adaptive trained kayakers to assist as needed.

To learn more about Team River Runner please go to their website at www.teamriverrunner.org<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teamriverrunner.org&data=02%7C01%7Ccreed%40udsakron.org%7Cab752fcaf717470138a708d71a802a93%7Ce68588ba94c04cae8365922e9bc34fb0%7C0%7C1%7C637007010092393166&sdata=64AH0j1eXMUI7m1LSPmAe9vx4ym6mR%2FtiZ2lsX83cPY%3D&reserved=0>  . Last Fall they put together a team of 5 blind kayakers called the "Vision Team" and ran the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. All 5 of those kayakers have paddled at Willowdale Lake and participated in our Football Tournament. We would invite anyone who attends to not only tryout our new buoy system but they can also participate in the games. We can also work with any individuals that would like to try being a guide on the water. It's a unique opportunity to try to visualize the world in a unique setting for a visually impaired individual.

We greatly apologize for this very late notification as we just found out the buoy system would be available (as stated it's still being developed). The event is extremely family friendly and is open to men, women, and older children (14 or older) to participate in games. Anyone will be allowed to try the buoy system as long as they can handle the paddle.

Please contact me if anyone is interested in coming down and helping us develop this new and exciting system. Please pass along to other visually impaired groups in the Akron Canton area.

Thank You
Ryan Pepper
Johanna Miller
TRR Organizers of the Veterans Kayak Football Challenge
Cell #330-417-3198


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