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Archive for BORP General Interest

From Rick Smith, Executive Director – February 2021

By Jill Gorman on February 26, 2021
Rick Smith Executive Director Portrait

Finally, there’s some good news on the virus front! The decline in cases and hospitalizations, along with the steady increase in vaccinations, is giving us real hope of returning to our full menu of sports and recreation programming. My hope is that we’ll be back into the gym sometime this summer. But as we have all learned, nothing about this virus is predictable. Still, all of us at BORP can’t help being excited at the prospect of returning to play!

We’re also excited about several activities that we’re adding to our spring schedule. Our new kayaking program at Aquatic Park will be launched in April. We’re adding several new outdoor and online fitness classes, and BORP’s new birding program is already up and running.

So, even though we’ll have to live with the restrictions of the pandemic for some time longer, BORP still has a lot to offer. We hope you’ll join us!

Categories : BORP General Interest

Looking Forward to a Return to Play!

By Jill Gorman on January 29, 2021

From Rick Smith, Executive Director

It’s hard to believe that almost a year has gone by in our COVID-altered world. While BORP pivoted quickly to provide virtual activities and reopen the Cycling Center, our sports program was forced to go quiet. Unfortunately, as the pandemic continues, little is certain. However, one thing we do know is that BORP’s commitment to sports programming remains as strong as ever.

It’s unclear how long the pause in sports programming will last. My guess is that we’ll be unable to get back into the gym (or hockey rink) until the summer or fall, but we will be back as soon as possible.
As we prepare for that day, we’re starting the process of finding a successor for Jonathan Newman (BORP’s Adult Sports Coordinator, who’s retiring this month). It’s impossible to put into words what Jon has done to further BORP’s sports programs over the last few decades, and I won’t try to do that here (but we are planning to formally celebrate his achievements later this year).

In the meantime, everyone on the board and staff is eagerly looking forward to the day we can get back to PLAY!

Categories : BORP General Interest

BORP in the News: BORP among recipients of Share the Spirit awards

By Jill Gorman on December 15, 2020

Published: December 13, 2020

Article by:  David Debolt | ddebolt@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group

BORP’s programs are highlighted in this article as part of the Share the Spirit holiday holiday campaign, sponsored by the Bay Area News Group.

Article is featured on The Mercury News website.

Categories : BORP General Interest

Help BORP Amplify the Voices of People with Disabilities in Sports!

By Jill Gorman on December 15, 2020

Here at BORP, we’d like to encourage our participants to complete an important national survey about adaptive sport.
Created by Move United in partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this survey is expected to be the largest study into the impact of sport participation on the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities. 

We need your help to amplify the voice of adaptive athletes!

What’s more, BORP will be eligible for a $500 grant from Move United if enough of our participants fill out this survey. So, by completing the survey, you also help BORP secure those funds.

If you are a person with a disability age 18+, please take 15 minutes to complete the survey: https://illinoisahs.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5bcnqHNSHVMre3X

Complete the Survey

Categories : BORP General Interest

BORP Fitness Studio Teacher Spotlight: Leia Cash

By Betsy Dorsett on October 23, 2018 1 Comments

Leia Cash

Leia Cash

Leia Cash teaches World Dance For All! every Thursday from 1-2pm. The styles she draws from include but are not limited to: salsa, cha cha, merengue, swing, African, Brazilian samba, “old school” funk, disco and more. “I’m so excited to be teaching at BORP because it reaches out to MY community here in the East Bay and welcomes everybody regardless of what kind of body and abilities they have. The opportunity to dance and move with you is so close to my heart.”

More about Leia:
  • I am a bay area native, and have had the good fortune to live outside the U.S. for a number of years. There are so many things I love about the bay area, including all the wonders of nature right on our doorstep.
  • I first learned about BORP 3 years ago when I took an excellent yoga class taught by Eric Irvin. I took a look at the BORP Fitness Center class schedule and decided to offer a dance class at BORP.
  • You may not know this about me:  I speak Swedish and Italian fluently. My French needs practice!

Sign up for classes at the BORP Fitness Studio

Categories : BORP Fitness, BORP General Interest, fitness

How was your last trip to the California Coast?

By Bonnie Lewkowicz on April 30, 2018 No Comments

Coastal Conservancy Logo above a picture of a many walking and a man using a wheelchair on a boardwalk. Text reads: How was your last visit to the California CoastThe California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) wants to hear from you about any access barriers that prevent you from visiting and experiencing the California coast. Please take 10 minutes of your time to complete this online questionnaire focused on removing barriers to access for people with disabilities.

Feel free to share this questionnaire which will close on May 18. If you experience trouble filling out the survey contact Tim Gilbert or Laurel Kelly at 510-845-7459.

Click here to take the survey now

Categories : Access Northern California, adventures-and-outings, BORP General Interest, Uncategorized

Oakland’s Cole School gets moving at BORP!

By Betsy Dorsett on April 23, 2018 No Comments

Thanks to the efforts of their teacher Laurin Kennedy a group of students from Oakland’s Cole School came on their first field trip to BORP in March. All of the students from Cole are nonverbal and wheelchair users and none of them had ever cycled before. Everyone got on a bike for at least one lap around Aquatic Park, and everyone had a great time. We asked Laurin what she thought of their first BORP experience:

Group photo of the kids from Oakland’s Cole School at the BORP Cycling center

Group photo of the kids from Oakland’s Cole School at the BORP Cycling center

BORP had a wonderful and meaningful impact on the lives of each of my students. Adaptive cycling opened a whole new world to them that they’d never had the opportunity to explore before.  Each of my students has moderate/severe physical and intellectual disabilities, so they each require specialized equipment to access physical activity. BORP provided that equipment for us, helped us select the most appropriate adaptive cycle for each student, and then organized and facilitated a ride. My students had a blast!

If I had to pick one student who enjoyed his time most, I would choose Darius.  Darius suffers from a neurodegenerative illness that has steadily robbed him of his physical and cognitive abilities over time. In the past, he was a typically developing child who had control over his mind and body.  As an adult, Darius is often frustrated because he cannot do the things he used to do as a young boy. When he was on the adaptive cycle, he seemed to be more happy and free that I’ve ever seen him. The cycle allowed him to move his legs in ways that he is unable to when he is confined to his wheelchair. He seemed to really enjoy the wind in his hair, moving his legs, and spending time with his mother, classmates, and teachers in a fun environment.

The best part of BORP’s cycling program is how invested the staff are to help our students.  BORP transported our classroom to and from school using the Borp bus, took the time and energy to help us pick out the most appropriate equipment, helped lift/transfer our adult students using their in-house lift, and then supported us on an adaptive cycling ride.  For 10 adult students, this is not an easy task. Everyone at Borp was so supportive and had a great attitude throughout our whole experience. That’s what really made our whole trip even more meaningful.

Categories : Adaptive Cycling, BORP Cycling, BORP General Interest
Tags : Adaptive cycling, borp, Cycling, Disability

A Perfect Partnership – BORP Cycling and The Centre for Neuro Skills

By Greg Milano on April 19, 2018 No Comments

Over the last three years, BORP Cycling and the Centre for Neuro Skills in Emeryville (CNS) have developed a great partnership serving both our missions. CNS is a residential rehabilitation program for people with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and strokes.  Every Tuesday, a group of CNS clients and their therapists visit the BORP Cycling Center for a group ride.  Most riders come for several months while they are enrolled in CNS programs and some continue to come independently afterward.

CNS  Therapist Albert Santa Cruz has this to say about our programs:

“BORP provides additional recreation therapy for our patients and provides a physical activity in community-based areas. There are plenty of articles and studies showing the benefits of outdoor activities including motivation to exercise, enhancing a positive attitude and emotion, and reducing mental fatigue. BORP allows a break for patients who undergo intense therapy in a clinical setting for hours a day while still getting a different type of rehabilitation. Bicycling outdoors allows patients to feel a sense of community involvement through social reintegration and inducing a mindset of belonging and being able to see their progress in a practical setting. Another aspect of bicycling outdoors is the exposure to sensory experiences by seeing the bright grassy areas, the sunny skies, and vast bay area water. Participation has given our patients a sense of a “reset” that allows them to continue their formal therapies refreshed.

The staff and volunteers have been phenomenal and accommodate for our sometimes large groups. They assist with all fitting for all of our patients and make sure our patients are safe with appropriate equipment. They adapt their equipment for our varying impairments and body types. We appreciate the open dialogue that is available at BORP and hope to keep the BORP and CNS relationship for a very long time.”

CNS Rider Spotlight:

CNS “graduate” Ray Ydoyaga on a recumbent trike near the BORP Cycling Center

Ray Ydoyaga

We interviewed CNS “graduate” Ray Ydoyaga about his personal experiences at BORP.  Ray started out riding recumbent cycles with the CNS group, has become a regular independent rider, and just this month successfully got back on a two-wheel cycle.

BORP: What do you enjoy about BORP?

Ray Ydoyaga: It’s great to be able to have a regular and fun outdoor athletic workout after a major physical injury.  This wouldn’t be possible for me without BORP’s special adaptive bikes.  BORP is also ideally located at the juncture of multiple bike trails ranging from the very easy loop around Aquatic Park Lake, to hidden paths around Berkeley marina, and to challenging and serious rides up to either the Bay Bridge bike path or, going the other direction, Richmond, and all offering stupendous views.   Pre-accident, I was a daily cyclist, so now post-accident, being able to do something physical again that i love has given me a lot of hope and improved my mental well-being.

BORP: Have you noticed a specific impact on your physical rehabilitation?

Ray: The repetitive cycling motions have definitely increased my strength, endurance, balance  and overall mobility.  My right side is still substantially weaker than left, but the regular cycling has given the right side a big boost.

BORP: What brought you to BORP?

Ray: In July 2016, I had a high-speed bicycle wipeout that caused a concussion and a spinal cord injury at neck level (C3).  That level of injury almost always means being (required to use a wheelchair), but through luck, years-long rehab work and the care AND INGENUITY of a great physical therapist, SEAN REYNOLDS OF CNS, I am able to walk — with a pronounced limp and sometimes looks a bit like a drunken sailor, but still, it’s a self-propelled walk nonetheless.  I have improved to the point where I will be taking my first solo ride on a regular two-wheeled bike very soon, and perhaps graduating from BORP’s fast three-wheeled trikes.

Categories : Adaptive Cycling, BORP Fitness, BORP General Interest
Tags : Adaptive cycling, Adaptive Sports, borp, Cycling

New evening, donation-based yoga class

By Stacy Rohrs on April 16, 2018 No Comments

Jess Schlesinger headshot

Jess Schlesinger

Long-time ​BORP​ fitness studio​ instructor, Jess Schlesinger will be offering her class two nights per week. Starting May 1st, Access Centered Yoga for Trauma and Pain will be offered Tuesday nights at 7:30-8:30 ​pm in addition to Thursdays​. This is ​a ​ donation based class, so students can attend for free and donate what they can​,​ when they can.

Class description:  

​Access-Centered Yoga is a trauma-informed class demonstrating that yoga can be accessible for all bodies and minds. The class incorporates awareness of breath with movement and dynamic poses adapted and modified for various abilities and access needs. Each class will emphasize strength, balance, and flexibility as well as infusing mindful awareness of our “felt-sense” throughout a sequence. Many of us become disconnected from our bodies as a result of trauma, pain, and shame. By taking a moment to notice how we feel while we move and breathe we begin to reconnect to our bodies and become more present in our day to day lives
Categories : BORP Fitness, BORP General Interest
Tags : borp, fitness, Yoga

Wildflower Season

By Bonnie Lewkowicz on April 16, 2018 No Comments

Purple and yellow wildflowers blooming with the California coast visible behind themYou might be thinking enough already with the rain but the wildflowers are saying bring it on.  It’s that time of year when people flock outdoors in search of the best places to see wildflowers. With our late rains, this year could prove to be dazzling. While I have not yet been in search of them this year I have in past years found that both Sunol Regional Wilderness in Sunol and Mori Point in Pacifica have been good choices for wildflower viewing. The Camp Ohlone Road trail at Sunol is hilly and for a manual chair user would require good upper body strength. The surface is aggregate with firm underlayment. Mori Point is flat and easy. Both places have accessible restrooms and parking.

If you’d prefer seeing the wildflowers from a moving vehicle you might want to head over to Niles and board the Niles Canyon Railway Wildflower train. This diesel powered locomotive travels through Nile Canyon and leaves from either Sunol or Niles, every Sunday, several times a day. Fare is $14 for adults, $8 for youth ages 3-12. A wheelchair lift is available for boarding and accessible restrooms are at both boarding points.

Categories : Access Northern California, adventures-and-outings, BORP General Interest
Tags : Access Northern California, adventures and outings, borp, Spring, Wildflowers
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