Adaptive Sports Connection Winter Sports Volunteering

The Adaptive Sports Connection (ASC), a chapter of Disabled Sports USA, helps Ohio veterans, children, and adults who need adaptive equipment or instruction to participate in various sports including skiing, kayaking and cycling. ASC maintains a substantial fleet of adaptive sit-down and standup equipment for novice skiers and snowboarders with various capabilities. Trained Winter Sports Volunteers assist certified lead instructors in giving 2-3 hour lessons to students with various handicaps. Volunteers help assess students, select outriggers and other equipment, adjust before the lesson and help during the lesson. Students may be accompanied by a friend or family member who will learn how to assist with getting on and off lifts so that students can ski or snowboard without instructors. One COUNT member helped teach lessons to two adult students with visual impairments and one 7 year old with autism and attended a personal skiing clinic for skills development. 8 COUNT volunteers have worked 363.5 hours at 38 ASC Winter Sports events divided between training, lessons with students and clinics. COUNT members have participated in 82 ASC Cycling, Winter Sports, Kayaking and/or Sailing events, contributing 599 hours since we started working with ASC in August 2018.