For the week of January 23 - 29, 2002

Adaptive Sports seeks donations

Fund-raiser to feature prominent athletes

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

For the past three years, Sun Valley Adaptive Sports has shared the great outdoors with disabled children and adults from around the country and the Wood Rive Valley, but the instruction and equipment come at a cost.

Sun Valley Adaptive Sports President Marc Mast has built one of the nation’s few professional adaptive sports programs for disabled children and adults. He’s seeking money to help the program expand. Express photo by David N. Seelig

"Because the program’s growing, the coffers are dwindling quickly," said Marc Mast, the president of the organization who also works as a volunteer. "We’re kind of worried that by the end of the season, we’ll have nothing left."

The lion’s share of the budget for SVAS comes from foundation grants and fund-raisers, Mast said. Still, he’s looking for donations for the non-profit business this winter, and is scheduling a fund-raiser for Jan. 31, in which U.S. Cross Country Disabled Ski Team members, Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, disabled alpine ski racer Muffy Davis and former tennis star Mats Wilander will attend and speak.

The event, called the Night of Champions, will be at Big Wood Bread in the Ketchum industrial area.

Because of Mast, the Sun Valley Ski School has one of only seven professional adaptive ski programs in the United States. There are other ski programs for the disabled, but they are run by volunteers.

In the 2000-2001 winter, SVAS taught more than 100 people to ski, and the organization’s summer programs are poised for expansion.

"This year, we will pay for new equipment, including helmets, skies, clothing and an adaptive mountain bike," according to a SVAS mailer.

The equipment doesn’t come cheap. Bi-skis and mono-skis, which enable people to ski without the use of their legs, cost $3,000 per unit. A pair of ski outriggers costs $300. A "ski bra," which helps skis stay parallel, costs $50 for a pair. An adaptive mountain bike costs $5,000. Sit-down cross country skis cost $5,000.

Add those equipment costs to the cost of lift tickets and overhead, and it’s a wonder that SVAS has pulled the operation off on merely $50,000 in three years.

"We are a non-profit organization that is over 80 percent funded by members who are private individuals like yourself. We need your support in order to help at least 30 percent more people this year, and to support the Ourtreach Program, which makes the Wood River valley accessible to those who cannot afford a world class resort."

This winter, Sun Valley Adaptive Sports is sponsoring about 20 local children for adaptive ski lessons. The disabilities of the children range from developmental to spinal injuries to brain injuries, Mast said.

Over the course of the year, SVAS plans to ski with each kid 11 to 12 times, Mast said.

Additionally, SVAS will sponsor a development camp for prospective members of the U.S. Disabled Cross Country Ski Team this month, Jan. 22, 23 and 24. It’s the only camp of its type in the county, Mast said.

But for Mast, who’s been teaching disabled people to ski for 20 years, it’s not about fundraising, money or equipment.

"Not only are you out skiing and doing something you love, but you’re having a profound effect on people’s lives," he said. "It doesn’t get much better than that."

 

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