Caitlin Sarubbi Qualifies for the Paralympics

Caitlin Sarubbi just arrived back in Aspen, CO from Kimberley, BC, where she qualified for the Super G race in the Paralympics. Caitlin is now qualified for the Super G, GS and Slalom events, and will find out February 22, 2010 which events she will race in Vancouver in March.

Currently training in Aspen, Caitlin will race in the World Cup Finals at Aspen, February 28 through March 5, and then she’ll head to Denver to do Paralympic processing and receive her US Paralympic team uniform. She’ll fly out to Vancouver on March 7 and the Games will begin on March 12.

“I am super excited to be heading to my first Paralympic Games,” said Caitlin, “and will continue to do everything I can to ski the very best I can and hopefully bring a medal back to the Adaptive Sports Foundation and Windham Mountain!”

The ASF congratulates Caitlin on all her accomplishments and will be cheering her on throughout the games! You can become of a fan of Caitie Sarubbi on Facebook and follow her progress.

Caitie training in Europe this winter

Guest Coach Mau Thompson from Winter Park, CO runs clinic

Diana Golden and Mills Cup Racers and Coaches

Racer Highlight-Staci Mannella

13 year old visually impaired racer Staci Mannella has been busy training and competing in preparation for the US Adaptive National Championships in March. This young woman will be competing in the junior division at the championships. In December, Staci received a scholarship to attend a development camp for young racers at Breckenridge, Colorado. She had some great breakthroughs at the camp and has picked up a lot of speed this season. Staci has also been participating in training and races alongside her able-bodied peers here at Windham to prepare for the national races in Big Sky, Montana. She recently returned from a week long race camp and race at Camelback Resort where she brought home a gold medal, beating out some very strong competition in the process. As evidenced by the attention being given this young woman, the US Adaptive Ski Team coaches feel that Staci has a realistic chance of being named to the US ski team sometime in the next few years. Her goal is to compete in the Sochi, Russia Paralympics in 2014.

The Rookie’s Report

A monthly recap from a first-year volunteer’s perspective by Jacob Brier

Since I first heard about the Wounded Warrior Project several years ago on the news, I have wanted to be a part of it and give something back to the men and women who have given of themselves for us. A couple weeks ago I had that opportunity, and it was such an amazing weekend. Whether it was joking around in the lodge, hanging out at Brandywine or even turning in equipment at the end of a lesson, smiles were never hard to find. By the pictures I’ve seen, I know that was even truer on the slopes.

In my last article I wrote about my first month with the ASF, but also mentioned that I hadn’t really done anything, yet. Well, with a few months under my belt, I really have an idea of what it’s like to volunteer at the ASF. And, not at all surprisingly, I am just as psyched about it now as I was at the very beginning! (Ya’know, back in 2009.)

Working in the equipment room gives me a great vantage point for the activities of the day. During one of my first days, I heard an instructor remark about how she leaves the lodge at 10 a.m. with her student, only to return to a completely transformed space for lunch, then re-transformed, once again, at the end of the day, and while she knows work goes into it, it’s still “magical.”

Though simple in execution, this transformation is not without thought. Care is always given to the way in which the room is set up. “Older tables go here, new tables go there…” We don’t need to set chairs at every seat…” Be sure to leave space for this family or that group….”

Lunch is a seemingly small example, but I am quickly learning that I, and the other people in the equipment room, don’t just offer adaptive equipment and the instructors don’t just adapt lesson plans; we adapt.

In the end, we are not changing how a person or family does things so that they adapt to a typical day of skiing or snowboarding. We are redefining a typical day of skiing or snowboarding to adapt it to how a person or family does things.

In a world that forces people to adapt to conformity, we force conformity to adapt to people. I’m sure this notion is not groundbreaking news to anybody (you’re all there, too) but it’s new for me, so I just wanted to share with you all how great I feel about it: Very!

Jacob’s Quick Stats: December + January

• Days at the lodge: 14
• Students/Soldiers equipped: 50-60
• Items won at the Auction: 0 (I really wanted that bike!)
• Major Accomplishment(s):

• I did not burn, cut or otherwise injure myself while learning how to use everything in the equipment room (this is a repeat from last article, but I’m still personally impressed by it – AND I didn’t break anything, this month)
• Lunch-time quick-fix for an outrigger so a mono-skier could get back out on the slopes
• I have skied more this year than the previous decade combined (probably!)

Until next time, be well and be good.