A8
FRIDAY
October 29, 2021
Fall Sports
SeasideSignal.com
An adaptive surfer has dreams of the Paralympics
By NIKKI DAVIDSON
The Astorian
M
onique Kelley never
expected to become
a surfer. The Brook-
ings native grew up watch-
ing from the sand as others
caught waves. The murky,
cold water made her uneasy.
Then something hap-
pened that changed her defi -
nition of fear forever.
She woke up pinned to
the ground, trapped in her
SUV after it slid, hit a tree
and fl ipped on black ice in
2017. Her then 5-year-old
son miraculously escaped
the vehicle uninjured. He
saved Kelley’s life by wav-
ing down help.
The accident broke her
ribs, punctured a lung and
caused a burst fracture. Res-
cuers were able to free Kel-
ley from the wreckage, but
the accident left her para-
lyzed from the waist down.
Determined to get the
best recovery care possi-
ble so she could eventually
independently raise her son,
Kelley moved to Portland.
She was fueled, in part, by
grief from another trag-
edy. Her accident happened
just three weeks after her
brother was killed in a road
rage crash on Interstate 5 in
Medford.
“I think that after what
I’ve experienced I would
have every excuse to wal-
low in self-pity, but I told
myself from the get-go that
the sun rises and sets with-
out me each day,” Kelley
said. “So it’s up to me to
make the most of it. What
good would it do me or any-
body else if I choose to wal-
low with that?”
An unlikely friendship
While Kelley relearned
how to function, Gabe
Smith, the managing part-
ner of Bahama Boards Can-
non Beach, experienced a
life-changing transforma-
tion of his own.
The volunteer fi refi ghter
worked at the surf shop in
2019 when it teamed up
with the Haystack Rock
Awareness Program’s beach
wheelchair
accessibility
initiative.
People interested in rent-
ing one of the beach adap-
Gary Peterson Photography
Monique Kelley uses her upper body to ride a wave in Cannon Beach.
Gary Peterson Photography
Kelley is pushed in a beach wheelchair out to the water.
Nikki Davidson/The Astorian
Kelley has dreams of qualifying for the Paralympics.
tive, fat tire wheelchairs
would call the shop, and
Smith would help transfer
them into the chair and push
it through the sand.
“For two years I was lis-
tening to people say, ‘This
is the last time I’m going to
have my grandfather or dad
on the beach,’” Smith said.
“I was helping this 95-year-
old guy one day. Later on,
while working with the fi re
department, I went on a call
for a guy who passed away.
It was the same guy I had
taken out on the beach. His
family wasn’t kidding, this
was his last time seeing it.”
After helping count-
less families, Smith felt an
unstoppable pull to increase
access to the beach.
“It’s aff ected me enough
to understand how it aff ects
everyone around them,”
Smith said. “I’ve been moti-
vated personally. I don’t
have a physical problem.
I’ve got nothing to complain
about in life so I can’t com-
pare the diffi culty of what
people have to go through.”
When Bahama Boards
obtained a surfboard spe-
cially crafted for people
with mobility issues, he
recruited as many people as
possible to take free adap-
tive surf lessons. When he
came across Kelley’s story
on social media, he reached
out.
“He just really sold me
on this idea that we could
make a positive impact in
the disabled community and
the community of Oregon as
a whole,” Kelley said.
She agreed to give surf-
ing a try, launching a friend-
ship that’s created a ripple
eff ect through the Bahama
Boards adaptive surfi ng
program.
A new purpose
An adaptive surfboard is
wider than a typical board,
adding stability and making
it possible for surfers like
Kelley to ride waves while
on their stomachs. From
that position, the surfer can
paddle through the water to
catch a wave.
“It’s very therapeutic,”
said Kelley, who started
surfi ng in May. “I surprise
myself every time I come
out here. It was really chal-
lenging in the beginning, but
each time I come out here it
becomes more natural to
me.”
A team of volunteers
makes Kelley’s training and
the adaptive surf lessons
possible. They’ll hoist Kel-
ley onto the board, carry her
out into the water and spread
out so they’re able to inter-
cept if there’s a problem.
Kelley is now training
to make it to the Paralym-
pics. Earlier this month, she
received a sponsorship that
will award her with new
adaptive surfi ng equipment.
“I wasn’t an athlete
before. I grew up riding dirt
bikes and skateboarding and
stuff but never considered
myself an athlete,” she said.
“I never in a million years
would have seen myself
even playing a sport at all.
Surfi ng, especially not. It’s
been one of the most amaz-
ing, exciting journeys in my
life.”
The accessibility
challenges
While
the
Bahama
Board’s adaptive surfi ng pro-
gram has grown to six stu-
dents, the team involved in
making it happen has realized
just how little access there is
to the beach for people living
with mobility issues.
There are no wheelchair
ramps that lead directly to
the water on North Coast
beaches. When Kelley comes
to Indian Beach for a surfi ng
session, a team of fi ve peo-
ple takes turns carrying her
wheelchair down the steep
and primitive path to the
water.
“It’s labor-intensive, all of
these people have to work,”
Kelley said. “I have to get
carried or I have to get pushed
super far in these beach chairs
that are provided by Cannon
Beach. If we had a power
chair, or an Action Trackchair,
it would go a long way.”
“This is defi nitely not just
about surfi ng, it’s about beach
access,” Smith added.
According to the Ore-
gon Offi ce on Disability and
Health, 12% of the state’s
population has a mobility
disability.
A survey conducted by
the offi ce reported that while
79% of adults in the state
engage in some type of exer-
cise or physical activity out-
side of work, only 65% of
disabled adults reported they
had exercised or engaged in
physical activity in the past
month.
Smith and Kelley believe
there is much more local and
state governments can do
to give people living with a
mobility disability options.
While they train for the
Paralympics together, the pair
is working to spread aware-
ness about the obstacles that
exist.
At this time, Manzanita,
Cannon Beach and Seaside
have rentable beach wheel-
chairs. The pair hopes to get
more adaptive equipment
like an Action Trackchair and
tools for other recreational
activities on the coast. They
hope one day a ramp will be
built that would allow people
living with a disability to get
to the water on their own.
“These are not inventions
we are trying to make up.
These currently exist in other
places,” Smith said. “They
don’t have them here. We
have some really ideal places
we could get them.”
PREP SPORTS ROUNDUP
Astoria volleyball tops
Seaside in Clatsop Clash
The Astorian
The Astoria and Sea-
side volleyball teams staged
a memorable fi nish to the
2021 regular season on Oct.
21 at the Brick House.
The Lady Fishermen
swept the match, and high-
lighted the Clatsop Clash
with a marathon 30-28 vic-
tory in Game 1, followed by
25-14, 25-18 wins in Games
2 and 3.
In the fi rst set, a kill by
Astoria’s Landri Mickle
gave the Lady Fish an early
3-2 lead.
But Seaside had the third
of nine ties, then gradually
took command, building
leads of 9-4 and 15-9 after
serving runs by Jessa Mutch
and Amelia Gastelum.
The Gulls led 22-20,
before Astoria’s Mollie Mat-
thews got hot at the service
line and served the Fish-
ermen into a 24-22 lead,
capped by two aces.
A kill off the block by
Seaside’s Alyssa Chen tied
it at 24-24, with additional
ties at 25, 26, 27 and 28,
before Astoria reeled off the
last two points with a kill by
Christina Tucker
Astoria’s Mollie Matthews (3) puts up a block on Seaside hitter
Sandee Adriano (4) in last week’s Clatsop Clash game.
Matthews and a block at the
net.
Astoria honored seven
seniors before the match,
including Matthews and
Mickle, along with Delfi na
Acfalle, Megan Davis, Avrie
Ewing, Bailey Kaul and
Tenley Matteucci.
The Fishermen fi nished
the regular season with a 2-6
league record, 3-12 overall.
The Gulls were 0-8 in
league and 2-16 overall, but
Seaside loses just one senior,
Sandee Adriano.
B OB M C E WAN
C ONSTRUCTION , INC .
Best of Luck
this Season!
p roud S upporter of
the S eaSide S eagullS !
owned and operated by
M ike
and
34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR
P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR
the
Cheesmakers
defeat Gulls at
Broadway Field
Seaside’s Lawson Tala-
mantez had 55 yards rush-
ing and made a 25-yard
fi eld goal in the second
quarter, but the rest of the
night belonged to Tilla-
mook, which posted a 28-3
win over the Gulls in Cow-
apa League football action
last Friday at Broadway
Field.
The Gulls head to Asto-
ria on Friday for the Clat-
sop Clash game at CMH
Field at 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Seaside defeats
Astoria, 3-1
With their two wins
over Astoria this season,
the Seaside boys soccer
team has taken over the
all-time lead in the Clat-
sop Clash series, with
the Gulls’ latest victory
a 3-1 decision Tuesday
night at a breezy Broad-
way Field.
With the exception of
a 2-2 tie in 2017, Seaside
has now won 11 of the last
12 meetings with Asto-
ria since 2015. From 2011
to 2014, the Fishermen
were 7-0-1 against the
Gulls.
Seaside plays at 1 p.m.
on Saturday in a playoff
game at Hidden Valley.
GIRLS SOCCER
Seaside holds off
Astoria, 2-1
With second place in
the league standings on
the line, the Seaside girls
soccer team picked a great
time to score their fi rst
Clatsop Clash win since
2018.
Seaside built a two-
goal advantage, then held
p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302
off a late charge by Astoria
for a 2-1 victory over the
Lady Fishermen, Tuesday
night at Broadway Field in
the regular season fi nale
for both teams.
In addition to snap-
ping a four-game los-
ing streak in the Clatsop
Clash, Seaside fi nishes
the regular season with a
6-3-1 league record, 7-6-1
overall, while Astoria
drops to 4-3-3 in league,
6-5-3 overall. Astoria will
still head to the playoff s
ranked 16th, ahead of the
19th-ranked Gulls.
League champion Val-
ley Catholic put the fi n-
ishing touch on a perfect
league season (10-0) with
an 8-1 win over Rainier.
Astoria was coming off a
7-1 win at Rainier Monday
night.
Astoria was set to play
Molalla in a playoff game
at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday
at CMH Field. Seaside
was set to play Estacada at
home in a playoff game at
7 p.m. on Thursday.
CCB# 205283
The Bruce’s Family will be
cheering on the Gulls this Fall!
We hope the season is a sweet one!
GO
GULLS!
Proudly supporting
SHS activities for
over 58 years!
C eline M C e wan
503-738-3569
S erving
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503.436.1151
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At the beach in Seaside, Oregon
seasideoutlets.com
3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102
Gearhart, Oregon
503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com