In 2015, two former Paralympians launched Access Adventures – a charity created to improve the quality of life for people with physical disabilities by introducing them to adventure sports.   The charity has grown considerably since launch and continues to improve their service provision.

Jane Sowerby and Tim Farr, both on the British Disabled Ski Team representing Great Britain at the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver 2010, know what a positive effect sport can have on people with disabilities. Teaming up with their long-standing friend Clare Williams – a physiotherapist, currently working with injured military at Headley Court – the three established a charity which organizes residential adaptive adventure camps.

Jane explains: “When the doctor delicately told me I’d never walk again, it felt like my life was over. I was completely paralyz ed from the waist down and thought I’d never be able to partake in extreme sports; I was desperate to find some kind of adrenaline rush again. Then, just over a year after my injury, I went on an adaptive ski camp; it was my saviour. There’s an incredible sense of freedom that comes from disabled skiing. The feeling of leaving your wheelchair behind and hitting the slopes is indescribable.”

Jane, Tim and Clare could all see that there was a gap in the market for adaptive adventure camps, and more importantly, a real need to provide and expand the kind of adaptive sports available for disabled people. So, Access Adventures was born.

They began with several waterski and wakeboard camps, but have since expanded the number of adaptive sports on offer to include kayaking, canoeing, land-yachting, downhill biking, hand-biking, skiing, kite-buggying and kitesurfing. May 2017 will also see their first camp catering specifically for under-18s.

Tim comments:  “Not everyone wants to do the adaptive sports, like basketball and athletics, that are readily available. Quite often people are searching for something fun, to challenge themselves and push boundaries. Often these kinds of activities are not easily accessible for people with disabilities”

The Charity Commission awarded Access Adventures charitable status in August 2015 after recognizing the significant service the organization can provide to those with a recent or long-standing physical disability.

Jane continues: “Tim and I have first-hand experience of the huge benefit our camps have to people with physical disabilities and Clare’s extensive experience working in disability rehab provides a fantastic asset to the charity.”

She adds:“I know personally how being involved in adaptive adventure sports can turn your life around and it’s been incredible to witness the same effect on others at our camps.

“Life with a disability can be very daunting and the psychological benefit following involvement in sports cannot be underestimated. It improves confidence and helps everyday challenges seem more manageable.”

They also recognize that the strong social element of the camps is often just as beneficial. Having a disability is not only about the physical limitations it may result in, some people struggle with low self-esteem. Being around people who understand your situation can really help improve this.

Unfortunately, adaptive sports are far more expensive than their able-bodied equivalent, due to the extra equipment and more tailored instruction required. This means that some people with disabilities just can’t afford to access them, and the fantastic benefits they bring. The Access Adventures team has been investigating various fundraising initiatives which will enable them to subsidise these costs and provide bursaries, with the ultimate goal to make the camps accessible for all.

For further information about Access Adventures visit:

https://www.accessadventures.co.uk/

@axSadventures

www.facebook.com/accessadventures

Wintergreen, VA Adaptive Sports PT and Ski Program

Individuals with spinal cord injuries, amputation, degenerative diseases of the nervous system, MS, muscular dystrophy, CP. spina bifida or other ambulation challenges, are invited to participate in a program at Wintergreen Resort in Virginia that combines Physical Therapy and Adaptive Skiing. Almost anyone who walks with canes, crutches or walkers or uses a wheelchair for mobility can participate in this program.

There is no fee for the equipment, the on-snow lesson or the PT evaluation or rehabilitation sessions. Session 1 is Jan, 12, 19, 26 and Feb. 2. Session 2 is Feb. 9, 16, 23 and March 2. Participants can sign up for a morning or afternoon session.

WAS provide all adaptive ski or ride equipment and a helmet (required for sit-down ski equipment.)

For more information, call (540) 545-7238 or email mwolff@su.edu.

The News Leader, November 26, 2016

Adaptive skiing uses specialized equipment and/or training to allow people (with disabilities) to experience the benefits of skiing. Skiing and snowboarding provide a sense of freedom that is difficult to duplicate in other sports. Skiing is a fantastic sport for people with physical disabilities or visual impairments in that it helps to develop balance, fitness, confidence, motivation, and social skills. Simply put – Skiing is Skiing!

The primary methods for adaptive skiing and riding are stand-up, sit-down, snowboarding, and ski bike. Stand up skiing includes 2-track, 3-track, and 4-track, while sit skiing includes bi-ski, dual-ski, and monoski.

HISTORY OF ADAPTIVE SKIING

Rooted in accidental injury and war

Started in Europe around WWII – realized importance of participation in sports

Early focus on 3-track (amputees)

Disabled Sports USA formed in 1967 by Vietnam Veterans – Originally, National Amputee Skiers Association

Passing of ADA in 1990

First accepted in Olympics (Paralympics) in 1992

 Development of Technology

·                  Pre-1970 – Outriggers

·                  1974 – Ski Bra is discovered at a ski show. Helps keep tips from crossing.

·                  1975 – Toe-Spreader – Bar that fits under the bindings and across the skis

·                  1976 – Slant Board – inserted under bindings to give forward or backward slant

·                  1978 – First sit ski – ‘Plunk’ cross country sled for paraplegics

·                  1980 – Arroya Sled for alpine skiing became part of the national games (like a toboggan)

·                  1984 – Mono-ski developed

·                  1986 – Bi-ski developed

Whistler Adaptive Sports Program is once again offering a wide range of winter sports, including skiing.   Photo by Photo submitted

The organization offers accessible recreation opportunities for participants of all ages.

While many Whistler residents are tuning up their gear and counting down the days until their first run of the season, the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WASP) is gearing up for another season of providing recreation opportunities to those who may be facing barriers.

The local non-profit is currently seeking volunteers to help coach the wide variety of accessible winter sports and recreational programming that they facilitate for individuals with disabilities.

This year’s roster of programming, available for everyone aged three years or older, is set to include alpine skiing and snowboarding, nordic skiing and alpine ski racing, as well as indoor sports such as swimming lessons, strength and conditioning sessions and yoga.

And, according to WASP executive director Chelsey Walker, they’re all in high demand. “We’re very, very busy,” she said. “Most of our weekends are already waitlisted for ski and snowboard lessons.”

To that end, WASP is seeking 40 volunteers to coach ski and snowboard lessons alone. “We’re in a capacity building stage where we’ve grown significantly across a few different sports, and now we’re facing needing to increase our staffing… to deliver the demand for the programs,” Walker explained. “We’re looking for help with our nordic program and racing program, and if anyone has a swim background we’re always looking for an extra set of hands in the pool. Anyone who has an interest, really, can get in touch with us and we’ll find a good spot for them.”

While experience with one of the above-listed sports is considered an asset for volunteer applicants, WASP does provide training when it comes to working with the various populations they serve. “We also look for people who are flexible, who can work through plans A through Z and who can also think outside the box,” said Walker. “Our volunteer pool is actually quite diverse, which matches the diversity of the populations that we work with.”

Volunteer coach positions for WASP’s winter programs range in time commitment, from one hour per week for their nordic ski program to a minimum commitment of 23 full, seven-hour days over the course of the winter for weekend ski and snowboard lessons, though that minimum includes five training days.

In addition to helping people who might not otherwise have the chance gain access to recreation, volunteering for WASP as a ski and/or snowboard coach will also earn you the perk of a free season’s pass to Whistler Blackcomb.

But before the season begins, WASP, which accommodates approximately 600 participants on a year-round basis, is raising funds to ensure they can continue to offer the best possible experiences for their athletes. They’ve partnered with Cornucopia for the second year in a row, where they’re set to hold their second silent auction of the week during the Poured Grand Tasting event on Saturday (Nov. 19).

Last year’s fundraiser resulted in $30,000 for the organization. This year, Walker said the organization is hoping to break the $35,000 mark.

“By working all the different populations all ages it really sets us apart from other organizations working in a similar field,” she said. “I think that people really feel their dollar goes a long way when they’re contributing to Whistler Adaptive.”

Question, Whistler’s Award-Winning Newspaper (Megan Lalonde, November 14, 2016)

Veteran Marine Ryan Zimmerer is the driving voice and story behind the short film. “The physical pain, yeah its bad, but it’s tolerable. I can forget the pain and go on,” said Zimmerer. “It’s the emotional and mental pain that’s the hard part for me.”

In 2014, the High Fives Foundation and the Adaptive Training Foundation began a program called Military to the Mountains. Injured U.S. Military veterans are trained for nine weeks at the Adaptive Training Foundation in Dallas, TX, preparing for a week of skiing at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in California. The veterans are instructed by Achieve Tahoe adaptive ski program.

“The goal of the program is to offer wounded war-fighters an opportunity to tap back into their physicality by pushing through mental and physical barriers,” said David Vobora, founder and CEO of the Adaptive Training Foundation. “Experiencing the mountains for the first time post-injury redefines their limits and ignites new passion to take ridge lines they no longer thought were possible.”

The effort is organized and funded by the High Fives Foundation, whose mission is to provide resources and inspiration to mountain action sports athletes with life-altering injuries.

“We’re dedicated to improving the physical and emotional health of U.S. veterans,” said Roy Tuscany, executive director of the High Fives Foundation. “It’s been an extremely rewarding opportunity to bring all of these organizations together to honor these men and women who have been injured serving our country.”

The project received funding from Chive Charities, the philanthropic arm of the entertainment website TheChive, allowing for another year of sustainability. It also attracted support from 16 other national sponsors.

“As warriors, we don’t need a hand out, we need a hand up,” said Jake Schick, a U.S. veteran Marine who helped pilot the program in 2014. “So if you give us an example of greatness to follow, we’re going to follow it.”

The film about Ryan Zimmerer and the others involved in the Military to the Mountains project can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/190287422

High Fives Foundation, November, 2016

The American Blind Skiing Foundation (“ABSF”) was founded in 1971 and is a non-profit tax exempt  national organization chartered in the State of Illinois. The purpose of ABSF is to provide an educational skiing program that is open to any blind or visually impaired person in the hope of providing both physical and psychological therapeutic value.  ABSF provides opportunities for the blind and visually impaired to participate in our sport no matter what their level of expertise.  We provide highly qualified guides to visually impaired skiers and snowboarders to participate in our sport, as well as basic instruction for those just learning.  ABSF provides financial assistance to visually impaired individuals who otherwise would not be able to ski due to financial hardship.

In a world where “a picture is worth a thousand words”  it’s easy to understand the barriers that confront a child … who can see no pictures.  So it is with the blind and visually impaired children and adults who ABSF serves.

Having the spirit and fortitude to overcome the daily challenges of life is difficult enough if you have sight, but for the blind, those challenges can be overwhelming.  Confidence in oneself is needed.  The American Blind Skiing Foundation helps build that confidence.

ABSF helps the blind to focus on what they can do … not on what they can’t see. This knowledge and confidence gives them some of the tools they need to successfully face challenges in other aspects of their lives.

ABSF is endorsed by the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council (CMSC). Some ABSF blind skiers have become proficient in racing and have participated and won medals with the NASTAR National Championships. ABSF welcomes everyone.

More information is at the ABSF’s website, www.absf.org.

Jim Martinson’s equipment innovations opened up new worlds to multiple generations of aspiring athletes — but there was an ulterior motive along with the altruism.

“I wanted more people to compete against,” he confessed.

That meant everywhere — on his home slopes of Crystal Mountain in Washington, on the road through Natick and Wellesley at the Boston Marathon, or under the Paralympic flag at Albertville, France. In the process, he became a godfather of sorts in the adaptive sports world.

But at the same time, he was all about the race.

So take your pick — contributor or competitor. In either role, Martinson is a worthy addition to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, which adds a seven-person class on Saturday during ceremonies in Aspen, Colorado.

Martinson thought he’d left his ski-racing ambitions behind when a landmine explosion on a Vietnam battlefield took away his legs back in 1968. Time and his own determination have proven him wrong.

“I would never have believed for a second that I’d be able to ski after what happened to me,” said the 69-year-old Martinson. “To be in the Hall of Fame, that’s just unreal.”

And yet he’s already played a role in others getting there. Hall of famers such as Sarah Will and Chris Waddell piled up multiple Paralympic gold medals on Martinson’s iterations of the “Shadow” mono-ski. But even more important, that breakthrough opened the door for countless recreational snow enthusiasts to enjoy the sport.

That’s all Martinson had in mind for himself as a kid at Crystal Mountain, where he was a pretty fair racer.

“How good I was, I’m not sure,” he said. “I just knew I wanted to be involved in skiing — ski patrol, manager, instructor, cat driver. Anything.”

A draft notice interrupted that. He’d been in Vietnam for five months — and just promoted to sergeant — when a member of his platoon tripped the explosive during a supply run. Five days later, Martinson woke up in a Yokohama hospital with no legs “and no clue what I was going to be.”

There was anger and depression, and some self-destructive partying. Eventually, Martinson found his way back to school, and through some friends onto a basketball court with the Tacoma Wheelmen. That piqued both his competitive urges and his innovative ones — he and teammate Jim Hernandez collaborating to build competition wheelchairs that were less than half as heavy as the clunky 60-pounders everyone was using. That segued into a racing phase that saw him win the 1981 Boston Marathon (he would also finish second three times) and claim Paralympic track gold medals in 1980 and 1984.

But always, the mountain was calling.

“I’d take my kids up and do the thing I said I’d never do — sit in the lodge and wait all day for skiers,” he recalled.

He was introduced to the Mono Bob, but was frustrated that it couldn’t be used without assistance. So he took it into the shop, cadging a shock from dirt-bike technology and developing what would become the Shadow — a mono-ski that allowed users to get on and off the chairlift independently. His early runs in the trial and error phase were every bit the thrill his gold medal runs would be later.

“It was totally a dream come true,” Martinson said. “I was only up on real light intermediate hills, but I tell you, it was incredible. I’d fall down, get back up, fall down again and go back and tinker a little bit and figure things out.

“I never really realized what I was doing. I never thought the product would get to the level it is today. I’ve heli-skied in Alaska, done the X-Games jumping 60 feet in the air and raced in the Paralympics going 60 miles per hour downhill. Pretty amazing from those meager first days.”

By this time, his company Magic In Motion was manufacturing the gamut of adaptive equipment — chairs for racing, basketball, tennis, golf, rugby, as well as his Shadows. He sold the company for $2.5 million in 1992, though he stayed on until 2000.

And the competition, well, he kept on with that, too.

In 1992, he won downhill gold in the Albertville Paralympic Winter Games — despite putting on “a whole bunch of weight” from the wine-and-cheese breakfasts he shared with Waddell. And at age 63, he was lured into the X-Games — though all he got out of that was a broken clavicle and scapula.

“It’s been incredibly fulfilling, getting back to something I loved forever, but also to know the impact it’s had,” Martinson said.

“There’s a games in Colorado the Veterans Administration puts on, and when I was back there two or three people came up to me skiing on mono-skis wanting to say thanks for making this possible and saying it’s changed their lives. That’s what it’s all about. You see people like Chris and Sara achieve what they have and it’s exciting to think you might have had a little bit to do with that.

“That’s pretty special.”

John Blanchette is a sportswriter from Spokane, Washington. He is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Team USA.org

About the Sport

Alpine skiing is practiced worldwide and features seven disciplines: downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, super combined, team events and most recently snowboard. Athletes combine speed and agility while racing down slopes at speeds of around 100km/h.

Competition accommodates male and female athletes with a physical impairment such as spinal injury, cerebral palsy, amputation, les autres conditions and blindness/visual impairment.

Athletes compete in three categories based on their functional ability, and a results calculation system allows athletes with different impairments to compete against each other.

Skiers with blindness/visual impairment are guided through the course by sighted guides using signals to indicate the course to follow. Some athletes use equipment that is adapted to their needs including single ski, sit-ski or orthopaedic aids.

IPC Alpine Skiing acts as the International Federation for the sport which is co-ordinated by the IPC Alpine Skiing Technical Committee.

Six events are on the Paralympic Programme: Downhill, Super-G, Super Combined, Giant Slalom, Slalom and Snowboard which will make its debut at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Competition description

Downhill

Each athlete competes one run down the course with their finish time determining the final order based on ascending time. Athletes ski down a long, steep course and must pass through a relatively few number of gates. If an athlete misses a gate they are disqualified. For weather, safety and other reasons, the jury can decide to have two-run downhill if the vertical drop does not comply.

Slalom

Each athlete competes two runs on the same day on different courses. Times from the two runs are added together to determine the final order based on ascending total time. It is a technical event over a shorter course than other events but with a high number of gates that the athlete must negotiate. If an athlete misses a gate they are disqualified.

Giant slalom

Each athlete completes two runs on the same day on different courses. Times from the two runs are added together to determine the final order based on ascending total time. It is a technical event with a longer course and fewer gates than the slalom. The number of gates is determined by the vertical drop of the course. If an athlete misses a gate they are disqualified.

Super-G

A speed event where each athlete completes one run down the course with their finish time determining the final order based on ascending time. The course is generally shorter than downhill but longer than slalom and giant slalom.

Super combined

A combined competition which represents the final result of two disciplines – usually one of either a downhill or super-G and a single run of slalom. Each athlete competes two runs on the same day on different courses. Times from the two runs are added together to determine the final order based on ascending total time.

Snowboard cross

Each athlete competes three runs down the course with their finish time of their best two runs determining the final order based on ascending time. There is only one rider on the course at a time. The event takes place on a man-made course constructed from a variety of terrain features like bank turns, various types of jumps and rollers etc.

The Wyoming Adaptive Ski Experience carries a theme of inclusion.  Injured veterans and US military service personnel participate with civilian adaptive skiers, and at the JH segment the adaptive group is integrated with able bodied skiers at one of the renowned JH Mountain Sports Schools “Steep and Deep Camp”.

This very impactful experience is made possible through the combined efforts of:

• Teton Adaptive Sports
• Adaptive Adventures
• Disabled Sports/USA
• 21st Century Warriors
• Grand Targhee Resort
• Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
• Homewood Suites  Jackson Hole

For more information contact Teton Adaptive Sports at 307-699-3554 or tetonadaptive@aol.com.

The Southeastern Wisconsin Adaptive Ski Program (“SEWASP” pronounced “see-wasp”) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization that provides adaptive alpine skiing and snowboard lessons for people with disabilities in southeastern Wisconsin and surrounding areas. Accessing the unique abilities of each skier, SEWASP fosters self-confidence and independence. SEWASP is a PSIA ski school and teaches mono-ski, bi-ski, 4-track 2-track and snowboard lessons for people of all ages and diabilities.

SEWASP began as a Zablocki Veterans Administration Medical Center recreation program in 1985. Through the years the program grew until, in 1996 with the support of Marquette Medical Systems Foundation, SEWASP, a unique community based organization, was established. In 1998 SEWASP incorporated in the State of Wisconsin and became a chapter of Disabled Sports USA.

SEWASP is a not-for-profit 501c(3) non-stock corporation licensed in Wisconsin as a charitable organization and is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA. We rely on contributions to support all functions of our ski school. Our mission is carried out with an all-volunteer board of directors and volunteer ski/snowboard instructors.

“Adaptive” refers to the modified equipment and teaching techniques used to enable skiers and snowboarders to participate safely and as independently as possible. Instruction is generally provided at Alpine Valley Ski Resort near East Troy, Wisconsin (southwest of Milwaukee on I-43), on Thursday evenings from January through mid-March.

SEWASP provides lessons for participants with all types of disabilities including motor and physical (spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), spina bifida, etc.), cognitive (brain injury, mental retardation, etc.), sensory (blindness and other visual impairments, deafness and other hearing impairments, etc.).

The program primarily teaches at Alpine Valley Ski Resort near East Troy, Wisconsin. The participants are from Milwaukee, Chicago and surrounding areas.  SEWASP is a member club of the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council.

The program provides adaptive ski equipment and equipment fitting. Equipment provided includes bi-skis and mono-skis for participants who may sit down when they ski. Some skiers have their own equipment. Learn more about SEWASP at www.sewasp.org.

October 7, 2015

By Jill Beathard, jbeathard@snowmassun.com

Challenge Aspen is working on a longtime dream of its founder — to spread the adaptive snow sport teaching methods it employs around the globe.

Co-founder Houston Cowan and a group of instructors just returned from Interski 2015, a worldwide snowsports conference, that this year was held for the first time in South America. Cowan gave a presentation about the adaptive sports industry at the conference, and afterward, he and some Challenge Aspen instructors shared their methods with Argentine instructors.

“When I helped co-found Challenge Aspen in 1995 … it was kind of a dream to teach others how to teach,” Cowan said.

Challenge Aspen already has a presence in Bariloche, which started with “Decifio Bariloche” (Challenge Bariloche), a local program modeled after it. Now an organization called Challenge Argentina aims to train instructors at ski resorts throughout the country in adaptive teaching methods.

The alternating winters have helped the program grow as Aspen instructors have been able to go to Argentina in the summer, while their trainees have been able to come here in the winter, Cowan said.

Challenge Argentina invited the Snowmass Village-based nonprofit as a delegation to Interski, and Cowan was asked to give a keynote address. Cowan chose to speak on how ski areas can benefit from developing adaptive snow sports programs, using the partnership Aspen Skiing Co. and Challenge have as an example.

One in six families have a member with a disability, Cowan said. Challenge Aspen integrates family members into the activities it does with its participants, and Cowan stressed that as part of the nonprofit’s — and the ski area’s — success.

“I’ve never met someone who didn’t want to help people with disabilities,” Cowan said. “We happen to be in an industry that’s very expensive for anyone. You can’t look at it as a charity all the time. People with disabilities … can bring a lot to the financial aspect of ski areas.”

Challenge Aspen also took adaptive equipment to Argentina and offered on-snow clinics to interested Interski attendees. Following the conference, the group returned to Bariloche, where former Challenge Aspen instructors Charley Phelan and Bobby Palm led eight instructors from four different ski areas in a four-day intensive workshop in adaptive instruction. Their goal was to leave AADIDES, the Argentine equivalent of the Professional Ski Instructors of America, with a framework for certifying and training instructors in adaptive methods.

“It is my goal, a lifetime goal, to create a passion and accessibility for people with disabilities,” said Phelan, who with Palm now owns and operates a business training instructors in adaptive teaching methods throughout the world. “It was the trip of my lifetime so far, because I hope that it’s still building and that there’ll be another trip and that it’ll be better and it’ll be more successful.”

This winter, three Argentine ski areas plan to send instructors to Snowmass to train with Challenge Aspen. Representatives from other countries who were at Interski were also invited to participate. All part of a shared goal of helping people in other countries to have the same life-changing experiences that Challenge Aspen is able to provide here.

“We have no hidden agenda,” Cowan said. “We’re not trying to make any money. We’re just trying to teach others (so that) they don’t have to come to Aspen, hopefully they can do it in their own backyard.”

Aspen Times, October 8, 2015