Twenty-one beaches on Romania's Black Sea coast have been adapted to improve access for people with disabilities, offering free use of specialized equipment and assistance throughout the summer. The initiative also includes an activity center in Eforie Sud where visitors can take part in adaptive water sports.

The project is coordinated by the Caiac SMile Association, led by Ionuț Stancovici, and aims to make the seaside more accessible to people with mobility impairments and other special needs.

The adapted beaches are equipped with access mats laid across the sand, floating wheelchairs and ramps leading into the sea, allowing visitors to reach and enter the water more easily. Access to the equipment and facilities is provided free of charge.

The accessible beaches were developed under a coastal accessibility project launched in 2024 together with the Împreună pentru Viitor Constanța Association and private-sector partners.

“We don't start from what a person can't do, but from what they want to do. From there we look for the solution: different equipment, a different route, a different way of getting there. These people are capable of far more than they are often told. My job is to remove the obstacles that stand in their way," Ionuț Stancovici said.

Beyond the seaside project, the association also organizes inclusive outdoor activities, including mountain races in which people with disabilities participate using adapted equipment. This summer, participants are scheduled to compete in the Bucovina Ultra Rocks event and the Oslea Run after five people with mobility and visual disabilities completed a 10 km mountain marathon in the Apuseni Mountains earlier this year.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: press release)