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Adaptive skiing makes it easy to
hit the slopes
With just over two years to go until the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the best of the world are coming to our province and our mountains. If the thought of flying down a ski hill at high speeds seems intimidating, not to worry. Skiing is all about having fun, getting outside and enjoying the view.
With adaptive programs throughout the province, it’s easier to learn how to ski now than ever before. As the venue for Paralympic downhill and Nordic skiing, Whistler works hard to ensure both winter and summer sports are accessible for everyone. For example, the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WASP), a not-for-profit society, provides year-around, recreational programs for people of all ages with disabilities. In the winter, would-be skiers receive lessons with trained adaptive ski instructors whose aim it is to make sure you love the sport as much as they do.
“Skiing takes your disability out of the picture,” said Rob Gosse, a skier since 2007. “I love that I ski as an equal with both able-bodied and adaptive skiers. It gives me a whole new freedom.”
Injured in the summer of 2006, Rob came out of GF Strong
12 weeks later wanting to try everything. From basketball to athletics to waterskiing Rob said that skiing “just stuck.”
“I’d always been an active guy and coming from a sports-oriented background, people at the rehab centre were telling me I was a perfect candidate for many disabled sports, which I laughed off at first,” remembers Rob. “But going to a bunch of different events, I realized that the disabled sports community is a small one, and really helped to connect me throughout the sports network.”
With an eager willingness to try something new, Rob joined a group of skiers heading up to Whistler with the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program.
“They take the unknown out of the whole picture,” he said about the WASP program. “The adaptive program literally helps you from the parking lot to the top of the ski hill. They instill confidence on the mountain and will never do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
With only one season of skiing under his belt, this 34-year-old Langley resident is now taking the next step and skiing competitively. He was chosen for the BC Provincial Alpine Ski Team for the 2007-2008 season.
“This year is going to be busy as I’m in full training mode as well as a student taking the Rehabilitation Assistant program at Capilano College and a father to two young children,” Rob notes. “But I’m up for the challenge!”
With programs throughout the province, adaptive skiing and snowboarding encourages people with varying abilities to come out, experience a new sport and just have fun.
In the lower mainland, the Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports (VASS) has programs like adaptive snowboarding, brain injury ski and cerebral palsy ski that take place on Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour. Check with you local mountain and see what they offer for adaptive programs.
“Learning with an adaptive program like WASP is great because they walk you through everything,” Rob said when asked what he would tell people who were thinking of trying skiing for the first time. “Skiing gives you a whole new freedom. I can go wherever I want without feeling limited. The whole mountain is yours to enjoy.”
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