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Old 07-16-2008, 06:57 PM #1
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Ribbon Nick Scandone: Standing Tall...from a Seated Position

Nick Scandone: Standing Tall...from a Seated Position
Sailing World By Herb McCormick at 2008-07-16 13:50


Amidst the small fleet of BMWs, Porsches, and other late-model luxury autos gracing the parking lot of Southern California's Balboa Yacht Club, Nick Scandone rolled in on his own special set of wheels and was asked how the day was going. He shifted hard in his seat--a throne from which he would not rise--and flashed a bright smile.

"Doing a lot better now that I'm down here," he said. It was easy to understand why. Scandone may have arrived in a wheelchair, not a Lexus, but his day's objective was precisely the same as the other club members: He was going sailing.

Other than the fact that he has a progressive neurodegenerative disease called ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, which has begun the slow, irreversible process of ravaging his body, in figurative terms Scandone stands apart from his yacht-club peers in several aspects. For instance, he's a much better sailor than almost all of them.


Paralympic sailor Nick Scandone describes the SKUD
18 as, "lounge-chair sailing at its best."


Scandone was diagnosed with ALS in 2002, and since then, he has risen steadily up the disabled sailing ranks, winning the 2.4 Meter Open World Championship in 2005 and, not coincidentally, earning the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award the same year. And he didn't stop there, for with his sailing partner, Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, Scandone will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in China this September. When I met him on a sunny spring morning last April, he was getting ready for a day of training aboard his SKUD 18, the class in which he'll compete at the Paralympics.

"Some people laugh when I say this, but the SKUD is lounge-chair sailing at its best," said Scandone of the "lead-assisted" skiff he's learning to master. "You're basically sitting in a chair face forward. There's no hiking. A lever switch tilts the seat back and forth when you tack. If it had a cooler and a couple of drink holders, it'd be a great afternoon cruiser for a lot of people. I think they'd really enjoy it."

So there's another thing about Scandone. ALS may have robbed him of his mobility, but not his sense of humor.

He's a "homey" at the Balboa YC, where he learned to sail in the junior program and from which his "first" sailing career was impressively launched. He was an All-American sailor at UC Irvine (198, a 470 North American champion (1991), the Sabot national champ (199, and the Lido 14 world champion (1998-2000). He was in the midst of a successful career in advertising sales and a self-professed "weekend warrior" in the SoCal sailing scene when ALS entered his life and he embarked on the "second" stage of his career, as a disabled competitor.

"I feel good," said Scandone. "I have down days where the body just doesn't seem to want to react that well but for the most part I feel--at least I know in my mind--that I'm going to be well enough to make it to the games and represent my country and try to win a medal. After that, you know, who knows?"

On that April morning, the core team of supporters who are helping him to chase the immediate goal surrounded Scandone. Along with fellow U.S. SKUD sailors Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett, with whom Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker were tuning and training, there was his wife, Mary Kate ("I always get the last two words," he said, "yes, dear"); disabled team head coach Betsy Allison ("She treats us very similar to how a coach would treat the able-bodied"); and UC Irvine sailing coach Mike Pinckney, a long-time friend of Scandone's who was literally on spring break ("We grew up together...it's funny how things come full circle sometimes").

"As you can see here, as disabled sailors we can't put the boats in the water and attach the sails and all that," said Scandone. "So we rely on a plethora of helpers to get the job done." I suggested to Scandone that, in the course of my own sailing career, I've come across a few famous, paid professionals who couldn't be bothered with hauling sails or dropping boats in the drink. He laughed. "Yup, I'm learning what it's like to be a true rock star," he said. "Just pull up, get in, and go."

You can't spend much time with Scandone and not be impressed with the headlong manner in which he's addressed his illness. For heaven's sake, he even named his boat A Love for Sailing because the initials stand for ALS. (His website, www.alove4sailing.com, provides updates on the campaign and information on how to get involved with the program.)

Likewise, after a very short while in his presence it's also difficult to ponder one's own set of "problems"--car repairs, lost luggage, the laundry list of trivialities that for most of us constitute a "bad day"--and not be rather disgusted, chagrined, and embarrassed, all at the same time. It's a hokey concept in these hip, modern times, but Scandone is an inspirational fellow, and I told him so.

"I'm just out there trying to have some fun," he said. "Over the last three years I never felt inspirational but in the last six months, as things are getting a bit more difficult, I can see where people might potentially get a little inspired. I could see where someone might potentially go 'woe is me' and kind of crawl up into their house and wait until the end comes. But fortunately, I was born with a good mental attitude. Plus I kind of forget about all that other stuff when I'm down here dealing with going sailing. Everything else takes a back burner. Out of mind seems to be good mentally. And again, I'm just trying to get out and enjoy myself."

With that, Scandone was down the docks to his waiting boat, and before long he was at the helm and someone was casting him off. He short tacked into the harbor and then out to sea, where the pressing concern was elemental: There's a big regatta coming up, and Nick Scandone plans on being ready.


http://forums.sailingworld.com/blogs/?q=node/166
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Old 09-08-2008, 05:21 PM #2
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Fountain Valley sailor takes lead in Paralympics
Nick Scandone and teammate Maureen McKinnon-Tucker are in 1st place in SKUD 18 class after 2 races.
By JULIE ANNE INES
The Orange County Register
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Nick Scandone of Fountain Valley will be representing the U.S. during the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

COURTESY OF NICK SCANDONE



Fountain Valley resident and Paralympics sailor Nick Scandone and his teammate Maureen McKinnon-Tucker of Marblehead, Mass., are leading the SKUD 18 sailing division at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker participated in two races during the first day of the sailing competition Sept. 8.

During the first race, the U.S. team finished second behind the China team. Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker rounded off the day with a first place finish during their second race.

Scandone, a 42-year-old champion sailor and Balboa Yacht Club member, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, six years ago.

Now he is representing the United States in the Paralympics, which kicked off Sept. 6 and continue until Sept. 17.

Follow the team's progress at Scandone's blog, www.alove4sailing.com.

Contact the writer: jines@ocregister.com or 714-445-6604

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/s...3-first-tucker
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Old 09-10-2008, 07:22 PM #3
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Amid life's rough waters, Paralympian sails on



By Mike Lopresti, Gannett News Service
From the website of the man who — as much as any American Olympian you could ever meet — refuses to give up:
"I am looking forward," Nick Scandone sent from China, "to fulfilling my lifelong dream."


Never mind, for the moment, that his life includes Lou Gehrig's disease. The use of his legs is gone. His arms have seriously weakened. Today was harder than yesterday, and tomorrow will be harder still. How many tomorrows he has, nobody knows.

And still, he sails on.

The great moments of sport have continued in Beijing, long after Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt left town. This week, it's the Paralympic Games, where every athlete has had a personal mountain to climb and a handicap to ignore. Every athlete has had daily odds to beat.

None more than he.
The word from the Qingdao sailing venue Wednesday was that Scandone and teammate Maureen McKinnon-Tucker were leading the two-person keelboat competition after two days of racing. The event stretches all week, with the gold medal decided Saturday.

If they pull it off, what a roar there should be. Will the White House notice? Will the people who make Wheaties? Will you?

The Paralympics do not grab the world's attention like the Olympic Games. There will be no prime-time coverage when Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker go for their gold.

But there would be, if Nielsen ratings were based on heart.

The disease struck a healthy yachtsman in 2002. It is officially known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS. There is no cure, and the average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years.

What could Nick Scandone do? He sailed on.

They qualified for the Paralympics last year, making China in 2008 the beacon that could draw them through, however rough the waters were around them.

Since then, there have been funds to raise, plans to make, work to do. Not a day of it easy. Not an hour.

Scandone's condition has deteriorated as ALS has its way. McKinnon-Tucker, paralyzed from a fall 13 years ago, has had to see her 2-year-old son go through treatment for a brain tumor. She thought about quitting, but where would that leave her teammate?

So together, they sailed on. Many athletes plan for the current competition and more to come. These two understand this might well be their one chance. The 42-year-old man from California, the 43-year-old woman from Massachusetts.

Next week, next month, next year does not matter. This is about today.

And so far, they are winning.

"We can both compartmentalize our lives," McKinnon-Tucker was quoted as saying in a story months ago. "Sometimes it is easier to navigate the racecourse than to navigate in life."

Their loved ones watch in wonder and awe, and probably eyes that have teared more than once. There must be times when they feel so helpless.

But those two out on that boat, they are not helpless. Not today.

From Scandone on his website, which has a name to fit the occasion, alove4sailing.com:

"At the dock before the first race I had about a 10-minute moment of tears. ... It's hard to describe what I was feeling, but it was definitely a sense of accomplishment."

One who understands a little of that is Sharon Matland, vice president of patient services for the ALS Association.

"It gives me chills to think about what he's doing," she said over the phone. "You hear about how limited he is physically, how his arms have weakened. It shows how much he wants to be doing this, that he has ALS, but ALS is not his life.

"For families and other people living with ALS, this is going to be an amazing thing to watch."

Matland sees patients trying to get the most from every day.

But nothing quite like this.

The Paralympics are for those who insist on living. The blind judo athlete. The swimmer who lost a leg. The paralyzed basketball player.

But nothing quite like this.

"The thing that Nick has that differentiates him," Matland said, "is that he has a progressive disease. Tomorrow he might not have the strength that he had yesterday. It's a changing environment for him."

But the gold medal is so close. If they win, no disease, no sucker punch from fate will ever take it away from them.

Scandone on his website:

"May we sail our best and enjoy the ride."

And may chance, for once, smile upon them.

http://www.usatoday.com:80/sports/co...-sailing_N.htm
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Old 09-12-2008, 06:41 PM #4
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PARALYMPIC GAMES: AMERICANS WIN EARLY GOLD Qingdao, China (September 12, 2008) - Nick Scandone (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) clinched the gold medal in the SKUD-18 fleet Friday with two races left to go in the Paralympic regatta. They have 9 points -- including 5 bullets -- after 8 races and are 9 points ahead of their nearest competitor (fleet of 11 boats) The final two races of the regatta are scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, September 13. The medals will also be awarded tomorrow. The regatta includes a maximum of eleven races over five days throughout the week.
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