Emy Pfankuch, 11, left, gets pushed by her mom Jill Pfankuch, both of Salem, toward the finish line of the Pole Pedal Paddle at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend on Saturday. (Andy Tullis/Bulletin photo)

Eleven-year-old Emy Pfankuch was all smiles as her mother, Jill, helped her across the finish line of the PPP Saturday at Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater.

The girl from Salem was born with spina bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down. Emy was competing on team Onward, one of six teams representing Oregon Adaptive Sports, a local nonprofit that provides outdoor recreation experiences for people with disabilities.

“This is her fifth year doing it,” Jill Pfankuch said of her daughter, who was using a race wheelchair. “She was the first kid doing it (for OAS), and now we’ve got a kid on every team. I can’t keep up with her any more. She’s fast.”

Some 40 athletes competed for OAS Saturday in the adaptive team category, which requires a minimum of three athletes with a disability. But the OAS teams had at least five disabled racers on each team, supported by able-bodied athletes.

“All of our team was adaptive this year,” Jill said. “Sometimes it’s a mix.”

The PPP’s adaptive category was introduced 12 years ago and started off with two teams. This year’s six teams and 40 athletes is the most ever in the PPP, according to OAS officials.