Sugarbush Resort Hosts US Paralympic Adaptive Ski Race Camp With Vermont Adaptive and the High Fives Foundation
Two skiers were invited to 2016 Paralympic Nationals at Loon Mountain, NH.
WARREN, VT. March. 4, 2016. – The last weekend of February, Sugarbush Ski Resort hosted a 3-day race camp for some of the area’s rising stars in adaptive skiing. Adaptive skiing uses specialized equipment to allow people with a wide range of disabilities to take to the snow as dynamically as skiing without disabilities.
The camp was lead by renowned monoskier Chris Devlin-Young is a US alpine skier who has the longest standing winning streak in US alpine skiing history. He worked with campers on the fundamentals of skiing and advanced techniques in the racecourse. He is known in the skiing community as CDY.
“I’m challenging them to answer the question, ‘what is a better skier,’” said Devlin-Young. “And every single one of them has improved.”
California’s High Fives Foundation paid the expenses for the thirteen athletes in attendance at the camp. The High Fives Foundation is a nonprofit in mountain action sports that gives grant funding to athletes who have suffered life-altering injuries. Grants awarded to these athletes for their rehabilitative goals, such as entering adaptive sports.
High Five Executive Director and Founder Roy Tuscany said, “Watching CDY teach is like watching a textbook in action.” Tuscany started the Foundation in 2009 after recovering from his own ski injury in the 2006. He was in Vermont observing the camp and hosting a High Fives Foundation Fundraising event. “All of these athletes here are ripping skiers already, and have each taken it to their next level.”
Two athletes were awarded an invitation to the US Paralympic Nationals hosted at Loon Mountain, NH: Greg Durso, 30, from Stony Brook, NY, and Emily Cioffi, 24, from North Easton, Mass.
“One of [Greg Durso’s] goals was to be chosen to go to Nationals,” said coach Devlin-Young. “He tried to make every run better, and that combined with his willingness to learn made him an obvious choice.
“Racing is a mental game as much as a physical game,” said Durso. “You have to go faster, you have to turn harder, and you have to trust your instincts. It definitely gives you goose bumps and it’s quite the adrenaline rush.”
“The athletes who are here this week aren’t paying a penny to be here. And they are receiving coaching that is at such an elite level,” said Maggie Burke, Managing Director at Vermont Adaptive, an adaptive ski school located on the premises of Sugarbush Resort. “Without the partnership between High Fives and Vermont Adaptive, this wouldn’t be possible for them.”
The High Fives Foundation, in collaboration with the US Paralympics, will host three more camps across the country throughout the 2016 winter season, cultivating high-level competitive athletes for international competition.
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ABOUT VERMONT ADAPTIVE
Vermont Adaptive is the largest year-round disabled sports non-profit organization in Vermont offering the most diverse program opportunities and unique, specialized equipment. Vermont Adaptive promotes independence and furthers equality through access and instruction to sports and recreational opportunities including alpine skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports; kayaking, canoeing, sailing, cycling, hiking, rock climbing, tennis, horseback riding, and more. We serve clients of all abilities with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities from all over the world in three locations in Vermont during the winter – Killington Resort and Pico Mountain in Killington; Sugarbush Resort in Warren; and Bolton Valley in Bolton. Summer programs are provided state-wide. For more information visit. www.vermontadaptive.org
ABOUT THE HIGH FIVES FOUNDATION
High Fives Non-Profit Foundation, based in Truckee, CA, became an official 501c.3 non-profit on January 19, 2009. Founded by Roy Tuscany, the Tahoe-based Foundation supports the dreams of mountain action sports athletes by raising injury prevention awareness while providing resources and inspiration to those who suffer life-altering injuries. Since 2009, the Foundation has helped 103 athletes from 22 states. For more information, visit www.highfivesfoundation.org
ABOUT THE US OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
Mission Statement -To support U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes in achieving sustained competitive excellence while demonstrating the values of the Olympic Movement, thereby inspiring all Americans. For more information, visit www.teamusa.org
