Adaptive Sports Program at Mountain Creek to be a reality in 2016

VERNON — The arrival of the New Year will be made even happier for handicapped and disabled persons who have an interest in learning to ski or snowboard due to the work of the Adaptive Sports Program at Mountain Creek Advisory Committee.

After more than two years of work, the Committee met on Wednesday, Dec. 30, to ratify a partnership agreement between the Mountain Creek Ski Resort and the Helen Hayes Hospital, located in Haverstraw, N.Y., which will result in the combining of resources to support a program that will initially make it possible for handicapped people with an opportunity to learn to ski and ride. The plan for the partnership is to expend the adaptive program to include other sport and recreational activities at Mountain Creek all year long.

The committee also approved the application and bylaws required to create the Adaptive Sports Program at Mountain Creek 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to provide fund raising and administrative support to the Mountain Creek and Helen Hayes Hospital partnership. John Whiting was named president of the Board of Directors, Dan Monzo, vice president, Buffy Whiting, secretary/treasurer, and Susanne Ebling, Tim Stone, Matthew Castelluccio, Eileen Andreassi, John Swartwood and Clay Harper as directors.

Those decisions provided the foundation for the committee to begin the planning required to begin to offer limited adaptive ski and snowboarding instruction to handicapped and disabled individuals during the 2016 ski season.

The work began when John and Buffy Whiting were approached by a parent of a local youngster who was disabled but interested in skiing. The couple approached the management at Mountain Creek to gain permission and support of the plan. After gaining the support of Mountain Creek the Advisory Committee was formed and the work began.

In 2014 a plan was presented to Bill Benneyan, the President of Mountain Creek detailing a 3 Phase approach to the implementation of and ASP at Mountain Creek program over a four-year period beginning with Phase I.

The goal of the first year Phase I of the plan was to provide limited access to program for a select number of candidates to allow for the development of the necessary policies, fees and procedures, identify and train a team of volunteer instructors, install and test administrative support systems, set up a program base of operation facility, obtain and test equipment and develop all of the support documents and materials essential to the smooth operation of the program.

Following Phase I, testing and refinement the program would be expanded to provide for an increased number of handicapped and disabled skiers and riders, but would remain limited to so that additional refinements could be made to ensure the delivery of a quality program once it reached full implantation in Phase III.

Steps are presently underway to identify and train volunteer instructors for the ASP at Mountain Creek. On Tuesday, Dec. 22, Mountain Creek Snow Sports Director Tim Stone and PSIA Adaptive Sports Examiner John Swartwood, both ASP-MC board members, conducted a training session for 13 aspiring adaptive skiing volunteer instructors.

— Photo courtesy of John Whiting