Organized by Philadelphia Adaptive Rowing, the regatta, held for the first time in Pennsauken, is open to athletes with disabilities and aims to foster both competition and community.
"It didn't exist before we had the crazy idea to do this," said Jeff McGinnis, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Adaptive Sports. "Our goal here is to bring more equity into sports, so that athletes with disabilities have the same opportunity to compete and have a community around them that supports them."
Among the competitors was Nancy Leverett, a blind athlete who said she found more than just a sport when she started rowing.
"I'm a blind athlete. I row, I downhill ski, I ice skate," Leverett said. With her seeing eye dog Grace by her side, she added, "It's OK to have a disability, you're not unusual. You're just like everybody else."
Joel Howe, another athlete, shared how rowing became a turning point in his life after a traumatic car accident.
"In 2006 I was pronounced DOA after a car accident," Howe said. "Because it's all adaptive. and what the volunteers do is just beautiful. I never get treated different than any other rower."
While the Bayada Regatta is the organization's largest annual event, Philadelphia Adaptive Rowing athletes also compete in other races, including the Independence Day Regatta and the Stotesbury Cup. Their efforts have helped bring adaptive rowing to the Paralympic stage.