October 7, 2011, by: Lucie Kettnerová, Section: Students with special needs

And what better way to celebrate it than with sports. The Podolí boatyard again offered a wide range of activities this year – canoes, a catamaran, a motor boat, adapted bicycles and table tennis. The meeting which took place on October 6^th was attended primarily by current and former students of Charles University with their accompaniment and the pupils of Jaroslav Ježek School for children with visual impairment, who receive regular invitations to the boatyard.

The centre’s objective is to facilitate sports activities to Charles University students with disabilities under the guidance of experts and thus balance out the differences in leisure time activities between able-bodied students and students with special needs. Besides, the facilities of the Regata boatyard offer much more – it is a pleasant meeting point where students with disabilities can share their experiences.

This year the weather was unusually favourable, so there was a lot of interest in cruising the Vltava and PaedDr. Jan Hruša, CSc., operating the catamaran, didn’t have a single break. The athletes had a chance to try canoeing with their assistants or ride the adapted bikes. In the evening, there was a lecture on testing an Aquaglide device combining an inflated boat and a surfboard.