World T.E.A.M. Sports 2014 Annual Review | Page 19

Coastal Team Challenge

Lo c ation : Long Island, New York
Parti c ipants : 20
Distan c e k aya k e d : 25 miles

For the participating 10 developmentally disabled athletes of the 2014
Coastal Team Challenge, the two-day, 22 nautical-mile sea kayak journey
along the southern coast of New York’s Long Island was a significant and
lasting accomplishment. Following the success of the 2009 Coastal Team
Challenge along the Pacific Northwest coast with Canada’s Soldier On, the
2014 Challenge included four-person teams in two-person kayaks. Paddling
among the bays and smaller coastal islands, the teams encouraged each
other as they crossed the open water of the Atlantic Ocean. After camping
out among the stars at Smith Point, the athletes completed their journey at
a celebratory bayside lunch. With continuing support from event partner
Independent Group Home Living Program, a Long Island non-profit
providing programs, services and support for people with developmental
disabilities, the Coastal Team Challenge will return in 2015.

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