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Para Rowing Foundation was established to support para rowers in the pursuit of excellence. Seeking finances, para experienced coaching, proper equipment and transportation can all take a great deal of energy and attention away from a para rower’s task at hand…TRAINING.

 

We asked para athletes what they need, and their answer was clear: opportunity!  An acute challenge exists for para rowers which PRF’s para training intensives address: Para rowers need the same intense training, coaching and honed equipment offered to other athletes in order to compete on the world’s stage.  

 

Para Rowing Foundation’s sole mission, and our passion, is to remove barriers to the development of para athletes as rowers, and help them meet the demands of this high-powered competitive international sport.  

 

PRF’s founding principle is that para athletes need exactly what any other athletes needs to be successful. Our approach is to offer training intensives supported with grant money for athletes invited to attend. 

 

Everything about the training intensives is designed to meet the unique needs of para rowers; every offering is para first. Meaning, PRF approaches each element of training with para athletes in mind. It is simply all we think about. This frees athletes to concentrate fully on their training and promote excellence.

 

This hands-on, individualized experience for para rowers includes para athlete responsive intakes and individualized coaching. Unique to our approach is our on-site fabricator, who can adjust and created equipment in real time. To meet the complexity of need for para athletes, PRF arranges para-mindful accommodations, airport transfers and rowing equipment. Each component is designed to identify barriers to accessibility, maximize potential and promote performance of competitors. 

 

Generous athlete grants are the heart of PRF.  We never want money to be the barrier to a para rower getting on the water. The financial demands of a person with disabilities can lead to tough choices, and leave a potential athlete unable to attend a training opportunity. PRF’s grants offer para rowers a means to meet their training goals. Para Rowing Foundation is a completely volunteer run 501 c 3 which allows donations to pass directly to athlete programming.

 

Creating opportunity is PRF’s commitment to these fierce competitors. 

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FINER POINTS 

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Where we are: In a world where able bodied athletes of all ages are offered camps to hone their skills, almost no options exists for para rowers. This is a tremendous gap in opportunity. When it is commonplace for a parent to send a ten year old to soccer or lacrosse camp to develop skills the same opportunity isn't readily available to para athletes, this imbalance of equity and inclusion is remarkable. 

 

With opportunities for training under the eye of para experienced coaches and equipment specialists, the pool of para rowers ready for competition will grow. This can only be great for the sport. Funding is an enormous challenge for athletes. Prior to making a national team there is minimal to no funding for an athlete to train. PRF fills that gap and can keep para rowers engaged. Opportunity and accessibility are global issues, so PRF welcomes and supports para rowers from any nation. 

 

What we have: Para Rowing Foundation took up the challenge to do all that we can. Creating opportunity is PRF’s commitment to these fierce competitors. Every offering is para first. Para is all we think about.  Our para athlete advisors have been essential in guiding the development of our approach and our founders bring distinctive areas of expertise that support PRF’s mission of affordable para rowing training intensives. Individualized athlete intakes, creative engineering solutions, along with para mindful accommodations and services are each part of the approach.

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Each member of the coaching staff brings their experience in coaching para athletes at the highest levels. Our coaches will be sharing their knowledge on and off the water by offering development lectures. 

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What we can do: Helping is at our core. Funding is an enormous challenge for athletes. Prior to making a national team funding is difficult to find. PRF can fully support our athletes with para first coaching, facilities, and equipment. Financial assistance in the form of generous outright grants levels the field by offering opportunity to all. 

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Para Rowing Foundation is ready to propel the world of para rowing to the next level by offering affordable para first training intensives. With your support we can all make a global impact on the para rowing community. 

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Thank you for your consideration, 

Marilyn Koblan & Abby Gregory

Co-Founders, Para Rowing Foundation 

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If this letter moves you, and you are interested in donating please click the donate link below or contact abbygregory@pararowingfoundation.org􏰀 for more information.