NSCD

National Sports Center

for the Disabled

 

Recreation Program

      Founded in 1970 by Hal O'Leary, the NSCD's world-recognized recreation program at Winter Park provides innovative outdoor recreation for adults and children with physical and mental disabilities.

What activities are offered by NSCD? 

      Alpine (downhill) skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing are offered during the winter season (November through April).  The NSCD's summer program, launched in 1980, now includes mountain, tandem and hand-crank biking, hiking, in-line skating, two sailing programs, therapeutic horseback riding, white-water rafting, fishing, baseball camps, rock climbing for the blind and camping.  Summer activities run from June through September.

Who participates? 

      Last year more than 3,000 children and adults with disabilities enjoyed the recreation opportunities provided by the NSCD.  Participants come from all 50 states as well as from around the world.  NSCD programs provide services for people with more than 45 disabilities, including blindness, amputation, deafness, developmental disabilities, permanent spine, head or limb injury, birth defects, terminal and progressive illnesses, severe asthma and severe diabetes.

Who teaches and guides partici-pants? 

      Recreation Program Director Hal O'Leary, certified by Professional Ski Instructors of America, leads a winter team of 19 PSIA-certified instructors.  the instructors are complemented by more than 1,000 volunteers who receive training in adaptive skiing.  About 100 volunteer instructors also are PSIA-certified.

      Staff and volunteer instructors provide one-on-one and group instruction, adapting lessons to meet the needs of all participants, beginning through advanced.  About 93 percent of NSCD volunteers return each ski season, and some have been teaching for more than 15 years.

How to reach the recreation program:

P.O. Box 1290, Winter Park, CO  80482, Phone (970) 726-1540, or (303) 316-1540, Fax (970) 726-4112,   http://www. nscd.org  jo@nscd.org (general infor-mation) or beth@nscd.org (professional

development services).

Competition Program

      Founded in 1984 by three-time world disabled champion Paul DiBello, the National Sports Center for the Disabled's competition program is the largest disabled ski competition program in the country and the only ski operation that offers year-round race training and coaching to athletes with disabilities.  The program is home to the Winter Park Disabled Ski Team (WPDST).

What are its accomplishments?

      The WPDST has dominated regional and national competitions throughout North America for the past 14 years.  Since its inception, the competition program has placed dozens of racers on the U.S. Disabled Ski Team.  In the past two years alone, seven racers from the NSCD's program have been named to the U.S. team.  At the 1998 Paralympics in Nagano, Japan, NSCD-trained athletes from around the world earned 13 medals in alpine events.

      Each year, the NSCD also hosts the Columbia Crest Cup at Winter Park Resort.  This race attracts some of the country's top disabled ski racers and is a premier qualifier for the U.S. Nationals.

How does the competition program operate?

      The NSCD's competition program operates on two levels.  The development-al level introduces novices to the sport of ski racing through camps at Winter Park and other resorts in the United States.  The elite level trains competitors in camps at Winter Park and in races and training sessions everywhere from Alaska to Vermont.  A summer training camp is available to ski racers at the Cardrona Ski Area in Wanaka, New Zealand.

      The NSCD's program is based on the same teaching principals used for any standard amateur ski racing program. It involves on-snow training, such as balance drills, edging drills and gate training, as well as dry-land cross-training, that includes biking, aerobics and weight training.  Winter Park Resort's Sports Science Center provides testing and training facilities year-round.

Who participates? 

      Competitors from 35 states, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will train at Winter Park this season.  In addition to individual racers from these countries, NSCD coaches also will be assisting their national teams.  Up to 75% of the members of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team have participated in the NSCD competition program during the past 10 years.

      NSCD staff assesses and coaches athletes with visual impairments, amputations, paraplegia, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, post polio and birth defects.

Who are the coaches?

      Program director Paul DiBello and coach Danny Pufpaff are former members of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team.  Coaches Kevin Jardine, Alan Bender and Peter Butrymovich joined the NSCD with extensive racing and coaching credentials in able-bodied ski racing.

      The NSCD provides a multi-level scholarship program for both develop-mental and elite athletes.

How to reach the competition program:

P.O. Box 1290, Winter Park, CO  80482, Phone (970) 726-1548, or (303) 316-1548, Fax (970) 726-4112, http://www. nscd.org, jo@nscd.org