Snowboards Make Mono-skiing Easier

Using a snowboard as the beginning step to mono-skiing helps reduce the number of frustrating and painful falls. The width of the board provides a steady platform while slowing down the quick edge-to-edge movements associated with the ski. The student can focus on the movements of mono-skiing without fighting to stay in balance. Moving from edge-to-edge on a wider platform requires a bigger move in the direction of the new turn in order to get the edge-to-engage. Many new skiers have difficulties with this leap of faith maneuver. Once the proper movements are in place, the transition to a standard ski is seamless.

The White Mountain Adaptive Snowsports School at Loon Mountain is always looking forward to winter. Our program provides sessions in skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing to individuals with physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges. Our dedicated and well-trained volunteer coaches are focused on creating the highest quality experiences for our guests. We welcome you to join us for a day, weekend, or week of winter sports activities on the novel terrain of Loon Mountain.

The Adaptive Rowing National Team Coach in conjunction with St. Joseph’s University and Philadelphia Rowing for the Disabled will be offering Learn to Row clinics for athletes with a disability. If you are interested in attending, please contact Isabel Bohn at (215) 765-5118 or pacenter@aol.com. Schedules will be set based upon interest. There will be no charge for the clinic.

Susan Beck, member of East Coast Outrigger Racing Association’s Adaptive Paddling Team in 2006 IVF World Sprints, training on Concept 2 with Paddling Adapter.

As a service to the international community of paddlers with disabilities, Cape Ability Outrigger Ohana, Inc. will post race times achieved by paddlers using the Vermont Waterways Paddling Adapter on a Concept 2 Indoor Rower Model C, D, or E. Adaptive paddlers around the world can compare their 1,000-meter race times in an objective manner without having to travel to a competition site. Paddlers will be categorized by gender, weight, and type of disability. There are no entry fees and no awards. Paddlers’ scores will be accepted using an honor system and can be updated by following directions found on our Web site: www.adaptivecanoeing.org.

Summer Activities at Alaska's Alpine Alternatives

Alpine Alternatives, Anchorage, offers 26 day-outings over the summer for individuals with special needs. Day-outings include visiting musk ox, reindeer, hiking, and many hands-on activities.

Alpine Alternatives offers three sessions of summer camps for persons with special needs. They include:

• June 25-30 for ADD/ADHD individuals
• July 23-27 for individuals that need partial assistance with daily living skills.
• August 7-11 for individuals with special needs that would like to bring a sibling, cousin, or close friend to camp with them.

All three camps have hiking, crafts, and water activities.

Alpine Alternatives also runs a sports camp for blind/visually-impaired individuals. Camp dates are July 9 thru July 14. The camp is sports-oriented with activities including: goal ball, rock climbing, hiking, tandem biking, aquatics, and beep baseball.

For more information, call (907) 561-6655.

8th Annual UCO Endeavor Games June 7-10

The 8th Annual Endeavor Games for Athletes with Physical Disabilities, hosted by UCO Disabled Sports & Events, will be held at the University of Central Oklahoma and Edmond North High School June 7-10.

The Endeavor Games were created in 2000 to meet the need for a multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities. In 2006, 315 sport participants from 29 states and three countries competed in 10 sports.

Activities will start Thursday, June 7, with clinics in archery, boccia, power lifting, shooting, track and field, and table tennis.

Competitions begin Friday, June 8, with events in archery, boccia, wheelchair basketball, power lifting, shooting, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and track and field.

An opening ceremony Friday at UCO’s Hamilton Field House will feature the 2006 Endeavor Games video, a Parade of Athletes, and a special guest speaker.

The entry fee for the competition is $25 for one sport (track and field is considered one sport), $30 for two sports, and $35 for three or more. The fee includes a participant T-shirt, athlete goodie bag, participation in the opening ceremony, a lunch, and the athlete banquet.

Athletes will also be awarded Olympic-style gold, silver, and bronze medals for the first, second, and third place in each event entered. The Endeavor Games are open to all athletes, regardless of age or ability.

“The clinics are an excellent opportunity for athletes of all ages to come and learn about a new sport,” said Shelly Ramsey, event coordinator. “Or they can reach a goal by competing in the competition.”

“We have seen people that may be new to their disability find a new personal inspiration by competing in a sport, something they thought was gone from their lives.”

Summer Camp Around the Corner at the National Ability Center

The National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, offers six different camps, which provide fun and adventure for all ages and abilities. Campers make friends, build social skills, strengthen physical agility, self-confidence, independence, and develop cognitive abilities. Camps include:

Camp X-treme – an outdoor, overnight adventure camp for teens (13-18) with disabilities. Swoosh down the mountains of Park City on a zip line, ride the alpine slide, river run, rock climb, rappel, and more in this week-long camp designed to build self-confidence and esteem.

Hawks – Day camps for campers (8-18) with autism spectrum disorder. This camp focuses on fun, socialization, and recreation with peers and camp staff. All activities will encourage growth in a supportive and safe environment.

Eagles – Day camps for campers (8-18) with physical disabilities. Designed to challenge the camper’s abilities through a variety of activities, this camp helps develop friendships and independence through a variety of fun activities.

Falcons – Day camps for campers (8-18) with cognitive disabilities. Campers discover abilities through body, mind, and spirit activities in an atmosphere conducive to social and physical development.

Ravens – Adult day camp for campers with disabilities age 21 and older. This camp offers the opportunity for healthy recreation with others. Campers and staff co-create a world where campers socialize and succeed in a broad spectrum of activities.

Camp Giddy – Equestrian day camps for beginner and intermediate riders (8 and up). A unique equestrian experience designed to teach basic English and Western riding skills and horsemanship skills in a safe and fun environment.

For more information on the National Ability Center’s Summer Camp prices or registration please contact the National Ability Center by calling (435) 649-3991, e-mail info@discoverNAC.org, or visit our Web site www.discoverNAC.org.

Sun Valley Adaptive Sports Hosts 2nd Annual Snowsports Reunion Camp

Seven Marines and soldiers and a few spouses embraced bitter cold temperatures to enjoy five days of skiing, snowboarding, sled hockey, and paragliding at Sun Valley Adaptive Sports’ (SVAS) second annual reunion event for Idaho and Oregon Service members who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The snowsports camp is one of many of SVAS’ Higher Ground programs for severely injured Service members. The purpose of Higher Ground is to build physical skills and self-confidence, and also to inspire and encourage Service members to do things they never thought they could do.

“We want to provide these young men and women a sense of purpose and passion in life,” says Tom Iselin, executive director of SVAS. “Sports and recreation can provide a lot more than just short-term therapeutic rehabilitation. It can be the cornerstone on which a Service member can rebuild a new life.”

Sgt. Joe Danes catches air off a catwalk

Photo courtesy of Paulette Phlipot

Also in town that weekend was the debut event of The Honda Ski Tour. It was the biggest event Sun Valley had seen in 15 years. The town was booming with energy and après ski. The Service members were honored at the opening ceremonies, and were given backstage VIP access to the Wailers concert. Other headliners included Three Days Grace, Hinder, and Tommy Lee. Plus, Service members had birds-eye viewing for the skiercross and halfpipe events.

“This is fun beyond belief!” shouted Lance Corporal Joe Lowe with an ear-to-ear smile as he was loading the chairlift the morning after the Hinder concert. Joe is a T4 paraplegic, who was visiting for his second year, and has now progressed from bi-skiing to ripping on his own mono-ski.

The late nights and minus 20-degree wind chills did not keep the Service members from waking up early and riding the first chairs of the day. “This was a five-day rush. We couldn’t get enough,” said Lance Corporal Mitchell Elhke, a BK amputee and first-time snowboarder. “I’ll admit, I was a bit reluctant to come on this trip, but I’m sure glad I did, because SVAS made this an experience I’ll never forget. I can’t wait to come back next year.”

Sergeant Joe Danes, a rippin’ snowboarder, was run over twice by a Humvee in Iraq. He summed up the sentiments of the group when he said, “There are experiences in life that completely transform a person’s life . . . this was one of those experiences. And as a result of this experience, I find myself wanting to be a better husband to my wife and a better father to my daughter, and I want to somehow find a way to share my new outlook on life with them. I can’t help but feel like my faith in God, and my faith in the goodness of mankind have been strengthened.”

SVAS plans to host two or three rafting and wilderness trips this summer and two or three snowsports camps next winter. If interested, visit www.svasp.org, or e-mail info@svasp.org, or call (208) 726-9298. To qualify, you must be a Service member who was severely wounded in OIF/OEF/GWOT.

Ability Goes International

National Ability Center CEO, Meeche White, visited Thailand earlier this year with her team of seven athletic coaches after spending three weeks on an international adaptive sports exchange funded by the U.S. Department of State Cultural Affairs Division. The team included athletes and therapeutic recreation specialists Muffy Davis, Danny Quintana, Rich St. Dennis, Jake Heilveil, and Ability Center Program Manager Lauren Artesani. The team worked closely with The Redemptorist Foundation for people with disabilities to create community based adaptive recreation programs in Thailand.

Meeche White with Redemptorist Foundation officials upon the team’s arrival

“This trip was about breaking barriers,” said White regarding her experience. “Thailand is just beginning to integrate people with disabilities into mainstream culture. We did more than just teach them about adaptive recreation; our team gave them the tools and encouragement to get out there and do it.”

The team spent equal time in the cities of Chiang Mai and Pattaya, Thailand. White found the Thai people to be most gracious and enthused by the National Ability Center’s efforts. Both cities held opening and closing ceremonies in honor of the team. The ceremonies included traditional food, music, and entertainment, fireworks, and cultural blessings.

The team engaged in three to four days of coach training, followed by three to four days of working with participants averaging ages 13-18 years old in each location. The goal was to build programs that would be self-sustaining both functionally and financially. In addition to training, the National Ability Center provided each location with three handcycles, more than a dozen tennis racquets with balls, and 50 wheelchairs provided through the Mobility Project in Seattle, Wash.

“Many of the people we gave wheelchairs to had been previously isolated in their homes due to a lack of mobility,” said White. “It was fantastic to see a child wheel themselves out of their house for the first time.”

Eight of the coaches that the Center trained in Thailand will be traveling to Park City, Utah, for additional training and observance of the National Ability Center’s program this coming June. The National Ability Center, a nonprofit organization, is proud to serve as an international model for the development of adaptive recreation programs worldwide. In addition to Thailand, the Center has already assisted programs in Italy, Spain, Chile, Korea, and Poland.

National Ability Center Begins Fourth Year of Bobsled Program

The National Ability Center (NAC), Park City, Utah, enters its fourth year of its bobsled program for people with disabilities. “Bobsled is the perfect sport for athletes with disabilities because it is a hand-controllable sport and easily adaptable,” said Meeche White, NAC co-founder and CEO.

NAC’s proximity to the Utah Olympic Park in Park City provides the ideal set up for the pioneering program. The NAC in conjunction with the International Federation of Bobsleigh and Tobbagen (FIBT) and the Bo-dyn Bobsled Project is working to make bobsled a Paralympic sport in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. Seven additional countries need to initiate bobsled programs for this to happen.

Athletes Aaron Lanningham and Matt Profitt became the first athletes with disabilities to forerun a World Cup bobsled event, held at Utah Olympic Park Dec. 8 and 9. Lanningham, the driver, is a paraplegic, and Profitt, the brakeman, is a below the knee amputee. Their times were comparable to many athletes competing in the America’s Cup circuit, despite the fact that Lanningham is already strapped in the sled and Profitt pushes solo. As a result of their successful run, the NAC bobsled team is invited to participate in the America’s Cup.

At the World Cup event, NAC also debuted its retrofitted bobsled by veteran NASCAR driver and bobsled maker Geoff Bodine. Bodine equipped the sled with a sleek NASCAR style seat, shoulder harness, seatbelt, roll cage, headrest, and leg straps to accommodate the safety of athletes with disabilities. Bodine is currently working with the FIBT to build bobsleds with this adapted design for other countries, enabling them to create programs for their athletes.

Crested Butte's Adaptive Sports Center - Enhancing LIves for 20 years

Crested Butte’s Adaptive Sports Center celebrates 20 years of providing quality experiences to persons with disabilities. The center had its origin in 1987 when President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Mrs. Rosalynn Carter joined a local group from Crested Butte, Colo., to form the Physically Challenged Ski Program. That fledgling adaptive program has evolved into the year-round, nationally recognized Adaptive Sports Center (ASC).

Robert Davis cooling off under the waterfall at Dominguez Canyon

Participants joining the Adaptive Sports Center this summer will enjoy guided activities on an individual and group basis while being supported by professional, experienced ASC guides. By promoting and providing successful outdoor adventure activities with the highest quality instruction and equipment available, ASC’s clients are sure to experience success.

The Adaptive Sports summer programming is offered every day from June 1 through Sept. 15, and includes environmental and natural history tours, rock climbing, downhill mountain biking, off-road handcycling, on-road handcycling, ropes course activities, canoeing, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting, and multi-day river trips.

Special events include the following:

• Family Weekend Getaway – A Gathering for Families with Autistic Children, Aug. 10-12. This camp is designed to offer families a true family vacation. Activities will be designed for inclusion and will offer plenty of time for meeting other families while bonding with your own. The weekend offers two-nights camping with most of home’s amenities and hot meals to compliment beautiful scenery and company. Saturday will be spent along the coast of the Blue Mesa, playing games, boating, and enjoying a barbeque. The price includes all food, guided instruction and camping gear. Cost: $485 per family of 4 or less with submission of scholarship form.
  
• One-Off Tour – Mt. Crested Butte to Marble. Join this three-day tour to Marble, immediately following the Off-Road Handcycle Championships. This trip will challenge riders as they descend into the Devil’s Punch Bowl and push across creek crossings on the way to majestic Marble. Guides will prepare meals and haul camping gear to designated camps. All participants have to do is ride – it’s that easy! Experienced cyclists only. Dates TBD in conjunction with the second annual Off-Road Handcycling Championships, stay posted to our Web site, www.adaptivesports.org for details, $225 per person or $325 per couple.
  
• Hartman’s Debut! – Overnight trips June 16 and Sept. 1. Formed by meteors and now an incredible arena for mountain biking, Hartman’s Rocks awaits you. Be the first to explore this area on our adaptive equipment. These trips offer an excellent venue to develop skills on a cross-country handcycle or a four-wheeled downhill mountain bike. Excellent for people who have not experienced these bikes. $175 per person or $225 per couple; includes bike rental, guided instruction, and meals.
  
• Backcountry Biking Clinic, Aug. 18-19. A Crested Butte Classic! For the fifth consecutive year we bring you the backcountry biking clinic. Spend a day descending or climbing Mt. Crested Butte on our off-road bicycles and then follow up with a day of riding Reno Divide. Price includes camping equipment, guided instruction, and bicycle rental. Excellent trip for beginners and experts! $175 per person or $225 per couple.

Mount Shasta Summer Events

The Mount Shasta, Calif., chapter of DS/USA is planning its second summer events calendar. Included are several days at a local lake spent fishing, swimming, and boating. In addition, several Class II (International Rapid Rating Scale) whitewater rafting trips will be offered on the Klamath River including the annual Stay-Able Raft Trip featuring two days of whitewater rafting and kayaking and a night of camping. The summer season ends with a celebration and camping trip at Kangaroo Lake, nestled within the ancient granite of the Klamath Mountains.

Shasta DS/USA is always looking for other adventures to take up in the summer months, as there are unlimited possibilities in the beautiful mountain landscape to do just about anything. All services and use of gear are offered free of charge. Anyone in the Northern California or Southern Oregon area is encouraged to join them in any event regardless of disability.

Exploring with Common Ground Outdoor Adventures

Northern Utah’s Common Ground Outdoor Adventures offers a variety of summer trips including climbing, white-water rafting, cycling, and camping trips to the national parks in the West. All trips are adapted to meet the needs of all abilities and accessible airport shuttles are available from Salt Lake International Airport to Logan, Utah. Equipment, meals during trips, and transportation from Logan are included in the cost.

Scholarships are available to persons who are blind or visually-impaired. Up to $200 may be awarded to each participant and may be used on multiple trips.

For more information or to sign up for activities, call (435) 713-0288 or visit www.cgadventures.org.

Zion National Park, April 27-29. View the blooming aspen trees in the red rock canyons of southern Utah. There will be plenty of opportunities to view wildlife, such as deer and wild turkeys, during the daily hikes. Cost: $105.

White-water training for people with physical disabilities and volunteers, June 12-14 and June 20-22. Join us on our training to teach people with physical disabilities how to row a raft on the Payette River in Idaho and the Snake River in Wyoming. Cost: $65 each trip.

White-water rafting for people with all disabilities, July 6-8, Aug. 11-12, Aug. 31 – Sept. 2, and Sept. 8-9. Spend a few days on the world famous river rapids of the Snake River and nights in Teton National Park. Or join us on our rafting trips down the Payette River in Idaho. Cost: $70 for a two-day Snake River trip or $105 for a three-day Payette River trip.

Glacier National Park, July 16-21. Spend your days seeing the wildlife and spectacular scenery of the great Glacier National Park in Montana. Activities include hiking and camping. Cost: $210.

Mesa Verde National Park, Sept. 20-23. Spend a four-day weekend hiking and camping with us in the beautiful park in southern Colorado. There will be opportunities to explore some of the 600 ancient cliff dwellings in the park. Cost: $140.

Oregon Coast bike tour for the blind and visually-impaired, Aug. 18-25. Join us for our first tandem bike trip down the Oregon coast. The trip will be a supported tandem bike tour along one of the country’s most spectacular coasts. Scholarships available. Cost: $280 includes guides, transportation, food, and equipment.

DS/USA Far West Adaptive Golf Instruction

photo credit: Photo courtesy of Melanie Rainey

Disabled Sports USA Far West recently completed its fifth season of adaptive golf instruction at Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, Calif. The 2005-2006 season served more than 80 people of all ages and abilities including those with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities.

The success of the program lies with its volunteers. Ninety percent of the volunteers were former participants. Their love of the program and the camaraderie brings them back year after year. “Simply put, we couldn’t do what we do without our dedicated, motivated, and loyal volunteers,” says Melanie Rainey, Disabled Sports program manager. “They donate their time, experiences, skills, and specific knowledge and in the end, everybody benefits!”

As an added bonus, Disabled Sports was able to provide instruction to five disabled soldiers who were injured in the Iraq war. The soldiers received private instruction from PGA and LPGA pros on the driving range and later applied their skills in a short best ball tournament.

Welcome Happy Trails Riding Center!

Welcome Happy Trails Riding Center, West Linn, Ore., a new chapter member of DS/USA.

Happy Trails is dedicated to enhancing the lives of people through horsemanship, emphasizing service to people with disabilities and special needs including: Down’s Syndrome, developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, ADD/H, hearing impairments, separation anxiety, and epilepsy. Through summer and fall 2006, Happy Trails provided more than 125 riding experiences to approximately 40 participants.

An invitation to enjoy horseback riding and a barbeque is extended to members of the military wounded during recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event will be held Aug. 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reservations are limited to 10 and participants must weigh less than 200 pounds. There is no cost to attend.

For more information, or to reserve a spot, call Nicole Tangvald at Happy Trails Riding Center, (503) 675-3005 or e-mail happytrailscenter@yahoo.com.

Happy Trails Web site can be visited at www.happytrc.com.