From left: Dan Metivier, the U.S. Disabled Ski Team?s Joe Tompkins, and Tom Matuszewski joined more than 700 other ski enthusiasts at The Hartford Ski Spectacular, in Breckenridge, Colo. Photo by Jamie Sanchez/WeMedia/Disabled Sports USA.

SNOW BIRDS

Beginning and advanced skiers alike fly down the slopes during The Hartford Ski Spectacular.

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The combination of fresh air and outdoor activity is the ultimate catalyst for bringing out the best in people. Add to that a collective enthusiasm for a shared sport and an innate craving for challenges. Finally, throw in the snow-capped Colorado Rockies, and you find yourself smack in the middle of The Hartford Ski Spectacular.

In its thirteenth year, The Hartford Ski Spectacular remains the nation?s premier multidisability ski event. Hosted by Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA), the week-long festival, held at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, Colo., last December brought together more than 700 individuals to what increasingly resembles an annual homecoming of ?who?s who in adaptive skiing?: a growing core of coaches, instructors, equipment manufacturers, and volunteers. Across the board, a wide spectrum of participants (from ?never skied? to ?never skied in a mono-ski? or ?never three-tracked? couch potatoes, to Paralympic heroes) came to challenge themselves?and the mountain.

The Ski Spectacular enables participants to extend their experience beyond the physical limits of picturesque Breckenridge. Instructors, athletes, and volunteers attend to learn about and collaborate on all elements of adaptive skiing.

The Spectacular?s core programs?including the learn-to-ski and learn-to-race clinics, Mid-Level Development Camp, and Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) continuing education?cater to the diverse ability levels of athletes and instructors alike.

For some participants, it was their first time on the hill; for others, who might have been adept skiers at one time, this was an opportunity to regain the confidence necessary to feel comfortable skiing again.

With the commitment from everyone, first-timers as well as long-time participants, there?s no question the Ski Spectacular will continue to grow. The 2001 event is scheduled for December 3?9. Contact: DS/USA, www.dsusa.org / (301) 217-0960.



? Tara Dugan, a first-time attendee of the Ski Spectacular, worked with the media operations team to publicize the event. Previously the assistant coach for men?s and women?s tennis and squash at Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine), Dugan now lives in San Francisco and is a senior account executive at Schwartz Communications, a high-tech public relations agency with offices in Boston and California. Contact her at tesd1975@yahoo.com.

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