Bayada Regatta, the country's longest running adaptive rowing race, happening on the Cooper River for 1st time

This weekend, athletes will take to the Cooper River for the 42nd annual Bayada Regatta, the nation's longest-running adaptive rowing competition .

2025 will mark the first time the race — billed as one of the largest adaptive rowing events in the world — will be held on the Cooper River after decades on the Schuylkill.

Adaptive rowing, also called para rowing , is a form of the sport available to athletes with a range of physical and intellectual disabilities.

As she practiced on the Schuylkill, Alexis Atwood powers her boat forward using only her arms and shoulders.

"I feel like a different version of myself. And feel like a clearer version of the new version of myself," she said.

Atwood was 17 when a car accident left her with a spinal cord injury. What began as mobility exerc