CRI Visit

6:49 PM vivvzh 0 Comments

Last week, we visited CRI (Community Rowing Inc.)’s boathouse for the first time. As a class, we’re going form teams to create products for CRI’s adaptive rowing community. This trip was to conduct exploratory research by asking open-ended questions about the rowers' experiences and challenges.

Meeting With Ash

We met with one CRI adaptive rower, Ash.
- He’s been rowing for 4 years and is aiming to row at nationals
- Has multiple sclerosis, so the right side of his body has very little strength, making him a trunk and arms rower who uses a fixed seat
- Would like a lighter seat to maximize length through water while also maintaining the proper seat angle Has issues with hand grip and feathering
- Is currently using a strap to help with grip, but the strap is ineffective

Dock Visit

Then we went down to the dock where rowers launch their boats and practice on the dock box.
Ramp is steep and doesn’t seem safe for wheelchair rowers
- Dock box can’t accommodate fixed seat
- Dock box is impossible to use with some para rowers who have a hard time getting on it

Boathouse

After visiting the dock box, we went back to the boathouse to get a closer look at the boats
- Seat pads are custom-made by each rower to fit their needs (and they must fit multiple boats)
- Rigger height to seat height ratio is often off; the rigger needs to be more easily raised (or seat lowered)
- Chest strap is too long for some athletes
- For wheelchair rowers, bringing the oars down to the dock is very difficult and requires help
- Some rowers use shoe inserts to even out their leg length, but this makes their feet fall out easily