Adaptive Snowboarders Make Strong Showing at the 2006 USASA Nationals

Adaptive Snowboarders Make Strong Showing at the 2006 USASA Nationals

(Venice, CA.) Adaptive Action Sports, a California based non-profit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for physically disabled individuals to become involved in “action sports, art and music, assembled a team of  11 very capable athletes to compete in the adaptive division of the USASA Nationals. The competition was a five day event held at Northstar Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe.

In years past the adaptive group at Nationals was scattered and usually consisted of four or five athletes. This season Adaptive Action Sports was able to bring an adaptive group of 11 together as a unified team. Sporting AAS hooded sweatshirts and marching behind a huge AAS banner the team lead the opening ceremony parade at the event. With high hopes and good spirits the team focused on the week ahead.

Over the next five days the athletes participated in giant slalom, slalom, slopestyle, boardercross and halfpipe. With riders like David Hunter, whom is nearly 100% blind, tearing up the halfpipe and winning gold, the AAS team was one to watch. The team swept the medal stand, boasting five gold, five silver and five bronze medals at the end of the week. Dutch single leg amputee, Bibian Mentel, was crowned women’s overall champion and Canadian Tyler Mosher took overall for men. Adaptive Action Sport’s co-founder and double leg amputee Amy Purdy took home second place overall and proved status with two silver medals and one bronze medal. Pam Eberly took home a women’s bronze overall medal while Buddy Elias and Thomas Wolfe took home silver and bronze in men’s overall.

This season there were several new riders to the Nationals experience including Nicole Roundy, Oscar Olguin, Thomas Wolfe, Buddy Elias and Chad Crittenden. These new riders were able to draw on the past experiences of seasoned riders like Lucas Grossi and Thayne Mahler to achieve the unfathomable; they all were on the podium by the weeks end.

2006 marks the first season for Adaptive Action Sports at USASA Nationals. At the largest able-bodied competition in the world AAS and the wonderful people behind the USASA organization managed to create the largest “adaptive” snowboard competition in the world. This first year is a huge step forward for Adaptive Action Sports and the adaptive snowboarding community. AAS hopes to return to the Nationals next year with even more involvement.

The week was a brilliant success which is owed in large to Adaptive Action Sports sponsor list including; Drop Gloves, Anarchy Goggles, Mervin-Mfg or Lib-Tech/Gnu/Roxy Snowboards, It’s All Downhill Snowboard Shop in Las Vegas and College Park Industries. All of these sponsors contributed to a swag bag for each athlete that included a snowboard from Mervin! The week could not have happened so smoothly without the help of the whole USASA staff including Tom Collins, Executive Director.

Adaptive Action Sports is currently working hard to attend The Extremity Games, the first ever extreme sports competition designed especially for individuals with limb loss, this summer in Florida. Check out more on the games at www.extremitygames.com.
Adaptive Action Sports is a California based non-profit that relies on the generosity of others to reach its’ goals. Please check out what AAS is doing and how to help at adaptiveactionsports.org or adacs.org. For further information please feel free to contact Amy Purdy (Co-Founder/Executive Director) or Daniel Gale (Co-Founder/Executive Director) directly at (619)770-0240 or (702)683-6218.