For two weekends in a year, a reservoir deep in the Arizona's Tonto National Forest, has a "Day on the Lake" event which becomes a haven for the disabled people, with physical and neurological disorders.
At the reservoir they can water ski, kayak and also speedboat. The reservoir is surrounded by clear skies and also beautiful mountains. For some people, it is the first experience of this kind in their lives. For some others, it is the first water-sports excursion since they were disabled.
The water sports at the reservoir have been adapted for the people with disabilities. Sometimes the water sports involves gear, like a single, wide water ski along with a chair on it. At other times it means having a hydraulic lift to hoist the people out of water or onto the boat or a jet ski.
The water sport event is the product of a unique pairing: Bryan Church, who himself uses a wheelchair, built and runs the Bartlett Lake Marina with accessibility in mind. Jo Crawford, who works with the Barrow Neurological Institute, which is considered as one of the country's leading hospitals for neurology.
Together, Bryan Church and Jo Crawford have hosted a "Day on the Lake" for more than two decades, enlisting number of volunteers and also drawing hundreds of participants in the event twice a year for up to three days of the outdoor fun.
In the state of Arizona, Bartlett Lake Marina is one of the most accessible marinas, and also since Church had a vision to construct marina in the 1980’s after the construction accident, he was left paralyzed from the waist down.
For accessibility, Church said the details about marina: Multiple wheelchair-accessible bathrooms and also showers. Sidewalks paved with the switchbacks instead of stairs. No ruts in the ground. The hydraulic Hoyer lift at the marina is a big plus.
Bartlett Lake Marina itself does draw some elderly people with disabilities, said Church, but it is Day on the Lake which attracts the people from all across the state, and also from sometimes other states and countries.
Some events and programs all across the country are similar in scale, including the one event which inspired Crawford to work with Church in order to start Day on the Lake: the Mission Bay Aquatic Center's Day on the Bay in the San Diego.
Crawford is a recreation therapist by the trade and also a program coordinator for the Barrow Connection, an affiliate group of the Barrow Neurological Institute which works to enrich the lives of people with various neurological disabilities.
To participate in Day on the Lake, the attendees must be one year post-injury and also be able to pass an intake test, during which they are placed facedown in the water and also have to hold their breath for at least 10 seconds before flipping themselves onto their normal position.
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