May 18, 2004

NEWS ADVISORY: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Taylor
(805) 756-1785 or jktaylor@calpoly.edu


Cal Poly To Launch ‘Solo Quad’ Conversion’ Prototype

To: City Editors, News Editors, Photo Editors, Assignment Editors, and
Reporters

From: Cal Poly Public Affairs

Who: Cal Poly’s Kinesiology and Mechanical Engineering Departments

What: Two of the country’s leading experts on “adapted paddling” will be
on campus Friday, May 28, to analyze and provide input into Cal Poly’s Solo-Quad
Conversion Project, which aims to modify a boat for use by a person with
quadriplegia. Janet Zeller and Scott LeBlanc, both certified American
Canoe Association adaptive paddling instructor trainers, will be in San
Luis Obispo May 26-May 30 primarily to review progress on the project.
During their stay, a prototype will be available for a photo opportunity
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 28, at the Crandall Gym Pool opposite the
Mustang Football Stadium.

Zeller and LeBlanc will also conduct a workshop for instructors in Cal
Poly’s Adapted Paddling Program. Seven local people with disabilities
will take to the water at Laguna Lake between between 10 and 11a.m.
Sunday May 30. The workshop will provide another unique photo
opportunity.

Where: Crandall Gym and Pool, Cal Poly campus; Laguna Lake, San Luis
Obispo

When: Friday, May 28, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sunday, May 30, 10 a.m.-noon.

Why: To create a boat that allows individuals with quadriplegia to
“paddle solo” as part of Cal Poly’s Adapted Paddling Program. Since its
inception in 1999, the program has offered people with mobility
impairments the experience of canoeing and kayaking in Morro Bay. The
Adapted Paddling Program, according to Taylor, “is dedicated to
providing empowerment through paddling for people with disabilities and
to teaching Cal Poly students to see beyond an individual’s disability
and connect with the human being.” Kinesiology Professor Kevin Taylor
and Mechanical Eningeering Professor Frank Owen expect to have a fully
adapted boat ready by the end of the year.

How: With a $10,780 grant from the Chrisopher Reeve Paralysis
Foundation, Taylor, along with Mechanical Engineering Professor Frank
Owen and students from both departments, are modifying a canoe and a
kayak by attaching small electric motors that are converted to respond
to “sip & puff” controls.


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