WINDHAM, N.Y. – The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) concluded its annual Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion® (WIM) Winter Sports Weekend on Sunday afternoon after two and a half days of teaching 11 injured military veterans and their guests how to adaptive ski and snowboard.
This year, the ASF teamed up with the Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) to bring in the nine warriors and their guests, who have never taken an adaptive lesson with the ASF. Between the ASF’s and the WWP’s generous donations and grants, the veterans and their guests didn’t have to pay a dime for the weekend excursion.
“This weekend has been absolutely awesome,” warrior Elizabeth Smith said. “My two goals for this weekend were to prove to myself that I could do something I was really uncomfortable with, and to push myself even further to get off of the training hills, and I accomplished both of those things.”
The participants arrived in Windham on Thursday afternoon, where they checked into the Hotel Vienna to unpack and relax after traveling before visiting the ASF’s Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center to get fitted for their gear and equipment, meet their fellow participants and meet the ASF and WWP staff. Once everyone received their new winter coats and were fitted for the equipment they would be using on the weekend, they enjoyed a catered dinner from Windham’s Zecatela’s 2.
The following three days of programming began with breakfast at the ASF lodge, courtesy of the ASF and made by the ASF kitchen crew, a group of dedicated volunteers who work in the ASF’s kitchen and make lunches every weekend for the program. The ASF’s volunteer shuttle bus drivers were tasked with bringing the participants to and from their hotels all weekend long.
Friday began with breakfast at the ASF and a quick mobility session before the new skiers and snowboarders met with their volunteer instructors and geared up for their first lesson of the weekend. Lessons went out between 9:30 and 10 a.m., and they lasted until 11:30 a.m. A special honorary luncheon was held in the Windham Mountain Club Base Lodge. Special guest speakers included WWP’s Randa Osman and ASF Board of Trustees member and daughter of Bob Stubbs Charity Guzofski. The highlight of the ceremony was when Windham-Ashland-Jewitt’s second grade and elementary chorus sang patriotic songs for the wounded veterans.
Heavy rain was forecasted for the early afternoon, threatening to cut the day’s lessons short. However, after a filling lunch from Windham Mountain Club, the rain seemed to have held off, and lessons resumed. The final lesson came into the ASF lodge a little after 3 p.m., ending a full day on the slopes for the warriors. They then returned to their hotels to rest before attending dinner at the ASF, made by the ASF kitchen crew. ASF monoskier and paralympic hopeful Brad Lang, a fellow veteran who lost both of his legs in combat, said a few inspirational words to the injured warriors emphasizing that despite people’s injuries, they too can continue to live a fulfilling life with hobbies such as adaptive skiing. Lang made sure to bounce around and ski with each veteran over the weekend.
Breakfast was once again served on Saturday morning with another mobility session before heading out for the group’s second full day of lessons. The weather was cold and sunny, making for some fast conditions on the mountain. All the warriors and their guests made it back out for day two, with a few participants choosing to snowshoe in the brilliant sunshine. Morning lessons ran from 9:30-11:30 a.m. then broke for lunch at the ASF lodge. Shortly after lunch, the large group of veterans, their guests, and all the ASF indoor and outdoor volunteers posed for the annual Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend group photo, taken by professional photographer and ASF volunteer snowboard instructor, Marc Bryan-Brown. Everyone dispersed and went out for their afternoon lessons, which ended at 3 p.m.
Saturday’s dinner was held at the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center, as the ASF kitchen crew cooked up delicious salmon, donated by the ASF’s Building and Equipment Manager, George Johnson and his wife, Alison. Alison, who owns the bakery, “How Berry Sweet” provided cupcakes for dessert. The ASF invited special guests from the Windham’s VFW Post 1545 and That Patchwork Co. to attend the dinner as well. The members of The Patchwork Co. put together special quilts and donated them to each of the 11 veterans in attendance for the weekend, and they were handed out on Saturday evening.
The warriors and their guests checked out of the Hotel Vienna and arrived at the ASF lodge on Sunday at 8 a.m. to dine on breakfast before their final lessons took place in the morning. They all hit the snow by 9:30 a.m. in some frigid Windham temperatures for a couple of hours before returning to the lodge for lunch. The veterans and their guests departed Windham with quilts, ASF challenge coins and a newfound love of snow sports.
“This event means everything to our family. The whole reason why my dad started this program was because he really believes in our warriors and our heroes and he thought it would be great for their recovery and rehabilitation,” Guzofski said. “Just seeing the group of veterans that were here this weekend and hearing their stories, there was an enthusiasm everyone had for what they’ve done here this weekend, whether this was their first time and they’re hooked, or they used to ski or snowboard before their injury. I was talking to one warrior, and he used to snowboard, and he didn’t think he would ever want to snowboard again. This weekend renewed his love of the sport, and he was excited to go home and take his son to his local mountain and snowboard with his son. That’s why this weekend is so special.”
“Programs like this are so important because it introduces an activity that you don’t know if you can do or do again,” Smith explained. “Readjusting after injury or illness, it’s a process and you want to reconnect with people. For me, it’s my brothers, who love snowboarding, and I didn’t think I’d be able to get back out there with them again. Now that four-track skiing is now my new normal, having a program that can teach that new normal is a gigantic blessing.”
About the ASF’s Warriors in Motion Program
The Warriors in Motion (WIM) program provides participating injured United States servicemen and women with a basic knowledge and practice of wellness and the importance of lifelong healthy living. All Warriors in Motion programs are goal-oriented and empower the warrior to take charge of their own fitness and wellness. One of the many things that makes this weekend special is that the warriors who will be joining the ASF are able to bring their families along with them to take skiing and snowboarding lessons as well.
Beginning in 2021, the ASF renamed its Warriors in Motion Learn to Ski and Ride event to the Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend to honor the memory of Bob Stubbs, a former Chairman of the ASF Board of Trustees, who passed away in 2020. Stubbs, a U.S. Army veteran himself, was one of the first ASF donors to ensure that wounded veterans had everything they needed for a weekend of fun and empowerment on the slopes. He and his wife Rosie would attend many of the WIM events the ASF held, and often the couple would build friendships with the participants.
About the Adaptive Sports Foundation
For over 40 years the ASF has been providing sports and recreation opportunities to thousands in the disabled community. Since then, it has grown into what it is today, an organization that provides year-round services out of its own slope-side lodge, the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center. All this has been accomplished over the years thanks to many donors and an impressive legion of volunteers, who can be seen in their iconic green jackets sliding down the snow-white slopes.
The Adaptive Sports Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides profound and life changing experiences for children and adults with physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses through outdoor physical activity, education, support and community. For more information about the Adaptive Sports Foundation please visit www.adaptivesportsfoundation.org.