In the brand new Loudon Boat is Scott Withers of the Durham Rowing Club and his son Ian, who is part of the Adaptive Rowing Program. All the while, Richard Turner pours some champagne on the boat for good luck while Bev Whale, John Godden and Charlie Norris celebrate the Oshawa Rotary Club’s donation of $6,000, which went towards the boat.

By Lindsey Cole
The Oshawa Express

Scott Withers of the Durham Rowing Club knows first hand the importance of the Adaptive Rowing Program and how vital proper equipment is.
His son Ian is autistic and frequently rides with his dad in one of the boats as part of the program, which encompasses a mix of youth and adults with mental and physical disabilities.
“He just observes things. He makes himself at home here,” Withers says as he stands near the Durham Rowing Club dock in Port Perry.

“If he didn’t like it, he would be fighting you every step of the way. He gets something out of it.”
Such is the reason why the launch of a new custom made $8,600 Loudon Rowing Boat means so much to Withers and those at the club.
It means Ian and others that may join the developmental side of the Adaptive Rowing Program can feel comfortable in a sturdy and safe boat.
And if it wasn’t for the Rotary Club of Oshawa, none of this would have been possible.
The club donated $6,000 to the cause after seeing the need for a boat like this.
“We had to develop some new equipment,” Withers explains, adding the whole process took about two years to come to fruition.
“We discovered that the equipment wasn’t suitable.”

Withers adds some participants were forced to step away from the program because of a lack of proper equipment. Over the past three years, three participants left for that very reason.
“When we started moving towards the developmental side we realized the boats were just too tippy,” he says, adding when he saw the Loudon Boat he knew it was the perfect fit.
“The problem was the price was out of reach. We were kind of at a standstill. By chance we met up with the folks from Oshawa Rotary.”

And after some fundraising initiatives the club came up with more than half of the funding.
“That just pushes us that much farther ahead,” Withers adds with a smile. “What you’re looking at is the Cadillac of this type of boat.”
In particular the Loudon Boat is more stable and features a removable seat rig.
Withers says that the physical side of the Adaptive Rowing Program has been added to the Paralympics, but when it comes to the developmental side, there is still a long way to go.
“The other of this is the autism. In terms of the developmental part we weren’t even on the radar screen,” he says. “It balances the whole thing.”
 He says the next step is expanding the program to other areas outside of Scugog so more people with developmental disabilities can take part.
“I think we’re on to something here. A lot would benefit. The next step inevitably would be getting it on the road.”
And thanks to the help from the Oshawa Rotary Club, the future looks bright Withers adds.

The Oshawa club recently celebrated 90 years of “Service Above Self” and is the sponsoring club to the Port Perry Rotary Club and Oshawa Parkwood.
The club takes part in a number of initiatives, namely the 9th annual Oshawa Rotary Ribfest, which takes place Sept. 10 to 12 at Lakeview Park in Oshawa.