Challenge Magazine Spring 06

"Perspective" "DS/USA News" "Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project" "Names in the News" "Sports & Recreation Articles" "News Briefs Articles" "Paralympians Bring Home Seven Gold Medals" "Stoked About Skateboarding" "Come Sail Away" "Marketplace" "Chapter News Articles & Chapter Feature Article"

Another Successful Run

There’s no business like snow business.
	All photos courtesy of Ken Watson

Based on the attendance levels at DS/USA’s 18th Annual The Hartford Ski Spectacular, held in Breckenridge, Colo., from December 4th through the 11th, 2005, business is booming. This year’s event attracted 761 attendees from five countries and 34 states.

Breckenridge Ski Resort, Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center, and the Wounded Warrior Project welcomed service men and women as part of DS/USA’s annual ski and snowboard event aimed at helping disabled individuals rehabilitate through sports. Fifty-eight veterans attended with their families, a record number.

“Every single one of these wounded warriors was on the chairlift by the end of the first day and making turns down the mountain,” said Kirk Bauer, executive director of DS/USA, Vietnam Veteran, and ski enthusiast. “When you experience serious injuries like these people have, your self image is totally changed, and I know this is helping them to regain their sense of themselves. To see that joy and confidence when they’re up on the slopes skiing and snowboarding, it’s what DS/USA is all about.”

The Hartford Ski Spectacular is the nation’s largest for people with physical disabilities. The weeklong event includes learn-to-ski and race programs, youth development camps, sanctioned USSA races, and a celebrity fun race. The event is sponsored by leading disability insurer, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., and is conducted by Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA), a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

With a powder-covered playground of over 140 ski trails and 2,208 acres on four interconnected mountains, The Hartford Ski Spectacular welcomed snow lovers of all skill levels and varying abilities. Among the attendees were 152 volunteers and 58 veterans, as well as blind, mono-, and amputee ski competitors. The mix of kids, teens and adults received lessons and attended racing clinics led by both disabled and able-bodied volunteers.

Racing events included a Level I Nordic Race, Level II Slalom Race, Level II Giant Slalom Race, and Corporate Challenge Team Race. The Nordic Race, open to all levels of cross-country skiing ability, combined a great workout with beautiful scenery. The Giant Slalom, a USSA-sanctioned race, is not only a qualifying event for the U.S. Disabled Alpine Ski Championships, but also for the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy.

Intermediate and advanced level skiers were invited to participate in the Giant Slalom.

Racing event first place winners were:

Women’s Slalom – Allison Jones, standing skier, 1:46.61; Laurie Stephens, sitting skier, 1:48.73.
Men’s Slalom – Brad Washburn, standing skier, 1:36.06; Ronny Persson, sitting skier, at 1:38.10.
Women’s Giant Slalom – Allison Jones, standing, 1:52.06; Laurie Stephens, sitting, 1:48.31.
Men’s Giant Slalom – George Sansonetis, standing, 1:43.76; Nicholas Catanzarite, sitting, 1:42.44.

The Corporate Challenge Team Race – composed of event staff, Ski Spec participants, U.S. Disabled Ski Team members, sponsors, media representatives, and VIPs – formed throughout the week and required the inclusion of four non-disabled athletes and at least one disabled skier on each team. The team, “Take 2 Aspirin,” took first place in the Corporate Challenge Team Race with a time of 115.36. “BOEC #1” took second at a time of 115.67, while “The Loonies” placed third with a combined time of 120.36.

Thanks to sponsorship from The Hartford and DS/USA, as well as the Wounded Warrior Project, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center, NCOA (Non Commissioned Officers Association), jetBlue Airways, Schwartz Communications, Inc., Professional Ski Instructors of America, Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center; DS/USA Far West, DS/USA New England, and Adaptive Adventures, the Hartford Ski Spectacular was a snowbound success.
See you Dec. 3-10, 2006!

Contributing to this article was Audrey Bekeny, a freelance writer who lives in Portland, Ore. Prior to pursuing her writing career full time, she worked at Schwartz Communications in San Francisco as a public relations account executive. Audrey holds a B.A. in English and French literature from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.