Valdez Washington

Valdez Washington, one of several adaptive rowers at the Delta Sculling Center, was a high school and community college track star in 200-, 400- and 800-meter races. Because of a serious injury, he suspended his track ambitions. But he was able, instead, to turn his athletic passion to sculling at DSC. When he first began his workouts on an erg (land rowing machine), he had difficulty walking and getting on to and off of an erg without losing his balance. Now he is not only becoming powerful on the erg, needing no assistance whatsoever, but he is also becoming confident on the water, rowing both in an Alden wide-bodied boat for beginners and in a MAAS double. He is considered an LTA rower, an adaptive rowing category that stands for “Legs, Trunk and Arms.” With all his accomplishments in just two months at DSC, he left the following note for Coach Pat:

“Pat, thank you so much for everything that you have done for me. I never thought I would love anything as much as Track; Rowing is definitely getting up there.”

July, 2014 update:  Valdez now rows a WinTech Explorer 21 without pontoons alone during practices and with pontoons during races!

---