Noteboom The Law Firm

2010 Winter Sports Clinic Kicking Off

March 29, 2010 - The Winter Sports Clinic is an annual meeting of veterans and ski instructors specializing in adaptive downhill skiing. In Snowmass Village, Colorado, veterans will be joined by Olympic champion skier Bode Miller. There are 375 veterans, aged between 19 and 90, expected to attend the 24^th annual free clinic being hosted between March 28^th and April 2, 2010.

The Clinic is sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan number approximately 1/3 of all the attending veterans. The 5 day Clinic will consist of:

• Adaptive sports;
• Workshops;
• Lectures;
• Concerts; and
• Seminars.

 VA physical therapists refer most participating veterans to the Winter Sports Clinic, and others take it upon themselves to apply. The clinic uses downhill skiing because it is one of the easiest and more adaptive sports. Skis can be modified to fit almost any physical disability. As for mobility, and allowing the veteran to participate, skis work just like a wheelchair or prosthetic leg, i.e., they make mobility possible in a certain environment.

Skis allow disabled veterans a freedom. Skis can be adapted to include a seat set up over either one or two skis to allow the veteran to sit down and ski. There are also different courses set up to accommodate those veterans with single or multiple prosthetics. There is a very short learning curve involved as well, which is attractive to many veterans. The clinic offers over 200 adaptive instructors and training lasts a mere 15 minutes.

The clinic offers much more than just downhill skiing. Participants will participate in sports many people probably do not think could be adapted to accommodate disabled veterans:

• Cross-country skiing;
• Snowmobiling;
• Rock climbing;
• Sled hockey; and
• Scuba diving.

 Many past participants in the clinic have subsequently competed in the Paralympics skiing events. The clinic, however, is not a training ground for the Paralympics. Instead it is just an offering to aid victims in getting out and getting active. Most disabled veterans introduced to skiing learn something about themselves, and learn that setting and achieving their goals is still possible even with a disability.