Sun Valley Adaptive Sports is partnering with the Ketchum Police Department and the BCRD to put on this fun-filled event this Saturday, May 28th, from 10-1 at the Wood River Y’s North Lot.

Leading up to the event, we are hoping to collect kids bikes to donate to those children in the Valley without them. If you have any small-sized bicycles collecting dust in the garage or just outgrown by your kiddos, bring it by the SVAS office and get your tax donation letter. We can take bike donations up until this Friday afternoon! Or give us a call (726-9298) and we will come grab it from your home.

Also, if you’re free Saturday between the hours of 9 amd 1, we could use some extra helping hands at our Bike Rodeo Booth! Set-up begins at 9am, and we will be there until 1ish. Bike decorating goodies galore!

Thank you – hope to hear from you soon or see you at the Rodeo!!

… Warren Miller’s article that made it to the Idaho Mountain Express this week. He mentions one of our local adaptive skiers, and highlights the importance of our niche: making the sports we love accessible – and fun – for all! Sun Valley Adaptive Sports is the Wood River Valley’s connection to adaptive skiing, snowboarding, and all year-round activites. Contact kate@svasp.org to get involved today!

 Tuesdays, January 4, 11, 18, 25: Wood River High School Students, 12-2pm

Wenesdays, January 5, 12, 19, 26: Wood River Middle School Students, 12-2pm

Fridays, January 7, 14, 21, 28: Developmental Preschool Students, 10am-12pm

Tuesday, December 14: Dryland training, 2-4pm (Dollar)

Wednesday, December 15: Adaptive Snowboard training, 12:30-3:30pm (Dollar)

Thursday, December 16: On-Snow Adaptive Training, 9:30am-3pm (Dollar)

Thursday, December 16: Special Olympics Alpine training, 4-5pm (SVAS Office)

Saturday, December 18: Special Olympics Nordic training, 1-3pm (Quigley)

Mono/Bi Ski clinics at Dollar:

            Monday, Dec. 20 – Bi/Mono/Dual 201: Bucketing and Blocking/Loading

            Monday, Jan. 3 – Bi/Mono/Dual 202: Tethering

            Monday, Jan 17 – Bi-ski 301: Bi-ski Progressions Level 1-3/ Skills and Drills

            Monday, Jan 24 – Mono/Dual 301: Mono-ski Progressions Level 1-3/ Skills and Drills

            Monday, Jan 31 – Bi-ski 401: Bi-ski Progressions Level 4-6/ Skills and Drills

Dryland Training—downstairs at Dollar Lodge:
Monday, November 29th: 5:30-8p(no equipment necessary)
Tuesday, November 30th: 9a-12p(no equipment necessary)

Adaptive On-Snow 101—Dollar Mountain:
Saturday, December 4th (bring your own gear): 9a-3p
Sunday, December 5th (bring your own gear): 9a-3p

How To Instruct a “Regular” Ski/Board Lesson—Dollar Mountain:
Saturday, December 11th (bring your own gear): 9a-12p
Sunday, December 12th (bring your own gear): 9a-12p

Cornerstone Bar & Grill will generously be hosting an evening to benefit the wounded veterans of Sun Valley Adaptive Sports’ Higher Ground program. Guest bartenders Mike Tor­res (Smith Elite Team) and Sean McEntee (SVAS) will serve the libations, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Sun Val­ley Adaptive Sports. Local participants will also be in atten­dance, and we will be highlighting their far-reaching, upcom­ing events. The evening will also feature a silent auction with primo offerings. So bring your friends, family, and an appetite as we salute the brave men and women of the armed forces.

SVAS Cornerstone Event

We would love your help in making sure the day goes as smoothly as possible. We are looking for 2 volunteers to help the participants receive their ski passes, and 2 at Sturtevant’s in Ketchum to help organize their ski lease packages.

Connecting to Nature – and Each Other - During PACK

by Lisa Huttinger, Education Director, ERC

(Lisa also is the esteemed volunteer coach for our Special Olympics Nordic team … she’s the coolest!!)

For three Wednesdays in June, I had the pleasure of working with a group of 18 children ages 7-12 through Sun Valley Adaptive Sport’s Peak Adventure Camp for Kids (PACK). I look forward to this program each year, as I love to see the ways in which the ERC’s mission can mesh so well with a group working towards what appear to be a very different set of goals.

PACK brings together a group of children with developmental disabilities – primary among these is autism – to “provide therapeutic intervention to improve the developmental milestones” of the participants. One may wonder, how does the ERC’s goal of connecting people to nature fit within this context? The answer lies in the children’s absolute enthusiasm for exploring the natural world.

We know that children are born explorers. If you have hiked with a child, you know that you often get no further than the trailhead in an hour, and within that time have been shown myriad objects and discoveries, and fielded many questions – some of which you’ve never even considered yourself! But for a child with autism, the striking thing about these adventures is to watch their enthusiasm for their discoveries overwhelm their disability. They run to you, and hold your gaze as they show you the latest track, leaf, rock, or shell that they have discovered. They find the words to describe the things that excite them most. They do not realize that they have just taken part in a therapeutic event.

Each week, I intentionally designed activities that required the campers to interact with each other in a meaningful way. They were asked to share with the group the special traits of an animal they have just created, describe their favorite bit of evidence of the animals living in Howard Preserve, or carefully guide a partner who was blindfolded in a sensory exploration of a natural feature. But really, these are a part of any program that we do – we always encourage the adults and children in our programs to connect with one another and celebrate this place in which we live. It just turns out that, for this particular group, we can serve a larger purpose in their life as we guide them in their explorations of home.