Contact:

Ray Abrahamsen, Director of Communications
rabrahamsen@bayada.com
or
Jim Armstrong, Communications Coordinator
jarmstrong@bayada.com
856.914.0700

August 27, 2004 – Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled (PRPD) and Bayada Nurses are proud to announce that the 23rd annual adaptive-rowing event, the Bayada Regatta, will take place on Saturday, September 11th, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The event will be held on the Schuylkill River near the Strawberry Mansion Bridge on Kelly Drive (East River Drive).

Bayada Regatta is the oldest adaptive-rowing regatta in the world. The event attracts some of the top adaptive rowers from around the globe, and some World Rowing Championship rowers are expected to be participating in this year’s event.

Scott Brown, a four-time Dad Vail Regatta winner in his fifth consecutive year of participation, credits the sport for igniting his will to live and for supplying him with an overwhelming satisfaction of body, mind and soul. At the age of twenty, a severe auto accident claimed portions of both his legs. “If it hadn’t been for the accident, I would have never become an athlete.”

More than 50 participants—classified according to their abilities, age, and experience—will compete in approximately 15 mixed and single events designed for novice, veteran and youth rowers. Rowers may have a number of disabilities, including blindness, visual impairment, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, post-polio problems, paraplegia, or quadriplegia.

Admission is free, and the event will feature something for all ages, including music, clowns, balloons, and free soft drinks and pretzels. The rain date is September 12, 2004.

The Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled (PRPD) provides recreational and competitive rowing opportunities for the physically disabled. For more than a decade, PRPD has been a leader in the movement to make the sport of rowing available to everyone. For more information on PRPD, call 215-765-5118.

Founded in 1975, Bayada Nurses is an independently owned home health care agency that employs more than 10,000 RNs, LPNs, home health aides, and therapists working from more than 100 offices in 15 states. For more information on Bayada Nurses, visit www.bayada.com.

For Bayada Regatta rowing information, please call 215-765-5118 or e-mail Race Coordinator Judy Bork at jborkpt@aol.com. For general information on the Bayada Regatta, call 856-231-1000.