New Program Helps People With Spinal Injuries Get Out on the Water

This story is reported and written by Robin Bourgeois.

On the water on a recent Sunday, Rebecca Guilbeaux felt no different than anybody else. Paralyzed from waist down, Guilbeaux moved easily on a paddleboard in the bay near the Beesley’s Point Bridge.

Prone paddling “equals everything out” between people with disabilities and people without, Guilbeaux said. “It brings people together instead of separating them."

Guilbeaux was participating in a new pool and open water program for athletes with spinal injuries. Bruckner Chase of the Ocean City Swim Club partnered with his sister-in-law, Bacharach Rehabilitation Institute physical therapist Becky McGill, to bring their groups together to create a Unified Team of swimmers and paddlers that partners those with and without physical challenges. 

Chase, who has created ocean programs around the world, founded the Ocean City Swim Club in 2007 with his wife, Michelle Evans-Chase.  They believe that prone paddling on lifeguard-style rescue boards and open water swimming offer unique opportunities for those with spinal injuries to join others in our community who are passionate about being on the water. 

On Aug. 4, four athletes with spinal injuries joined a handful of volunteers that included members of the Upper Township Rescue Squad, friends and family in a two-hour session of paddling and swimming in the open water off the Beesley's Point Beach.  These summer open water sessions are a culmination of winter training in the Ocean City Aquatics Center pool that had the Unified Team athletes training alongside other swimmers in the center's Adult Fitness swim program directed by Chase. To date, a dozen physically challenged athletes have taken part in the pool and open water sessions since the program launched.  

Upper Township Mayor Richard Palumbo, members of the Upper Township Beach Patrol and Rescue Squad have been tremendous supporters of the program since the group moved to the open water, and the township has not only supplied volunteers but also has provided a permanent access mat crossing the beach at Beesley's Point. The mat creates an easier access from the street to the water.  

“It is awesome to be on the water,” said Joannie Anastasi, a new paddler who has been paraplegic since birth.

Angle Mullin, an athlete supported by her family at the beach, said she feels part of the water community when she’s paddling.

Chase and the Ocean City Swim Club plan to continue group prone paddling sessions on Sundays at the Beesley’s Point beach in Upper Township near the Tuckahoe Inn while also partnering up athletes and volunteers for additional sessions during the week.  

More information about the Ocean City Swim Club/Bacharach program can be found at oceancityswimclub.org/Unified_Team.html.

If you’d like to get involved or donate, email Bruckner Chase at synthesis@brucknerchase.com.