wspeedin
06-15-2012, 11:14 AM
I posted this over on wakeworld but I really wanted to share it with all of my Supra friends! Here in NC we have an organization known as Wake the World. Im sure many of you have heard of this organization and maybe have contacted them to get something going in your area. Well, over the winter I worked with Greg, the founder of the organization, on setting up an adaptive waterski clinic within the Wake the World program. This week was our first clinic and it was so amazing! I mean, really, really inspiring and life changing.
Now, mos tof you know that I myself am in a wheelchair and have been wakeboarding for about three years now. I suffered a motorcycle accident which left me paralyzed with a spinal cord injury. Accidents like this cause alot of people a bunch of grief and regret. Worse are the individuals who have known no different becasue they have had a disability since birth. Well, the regular, able bodied world has so many fun things to do but are so limited in their adaptive avenues of those fun things to do.
We are all lucky enough to own boats and are able to go out on the water at a minutes notice. These guys with disabilites, for the most part, dont have that luxury. So to put on this event was a blessing and an honor!
We spent two days on Badin Lake, NC with an organization called "UCanSki2". They spent the first day teaching all of our volunteers how to teach the disabled to ski. So, we all learned and then the second day out it was our turn to take over and actually teach a clinic. We are lucky enough to have such great volunteers. Whats even more impressive is the age of our volunteers. How awesome is it that a 12 year old would be willing to donate two days of his summer vacation to help out this cause.
To be a safe quality prgram we have to have a boat driver, a safety pinner (they release the rope from the boat in event of a fall), and side skiers.
So,
Without further adeu....
Here is our group of volunteers getting ready for a nice show ski around the course.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/Sideskiers.jpg
We got them in the water and made them ski a lap.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/Lap1.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/SS1.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/SS2.jpg
Now, mos tof you know that I myself am in a wheelchair and have been wakeboarding for about three years now. I suffered a motorcycle accident which left me paralyzed with a spinal cord injury. Accidents like this cause alot of people a bunch of grief and regret. Worse are the individuals who have known no different becasue they have had a disability since birth. Well, the regular, able bodied world has so many fun things to do but are so limited in their adaptive avenues of those fun things to do.
We are all lucky enough to own boats and are able to go out on the water at a minutes notice. These guys with disabilites, for the most part, dont have that luxury. So to put on this event was a blessing and an honor!
We spent two days on Badin Lake, NC with an organization called "UCanSki2". They spent the first day teaching all of our volunteers how to teach the disabled to ski. So, we all learned and then the second day out it was our turn to take over and actually teach a clinic. We are lucky enough to have such great volunteers. Whats even more impressive is the age of our volunteers. How awesome is it that a 12 year old would be willing to donate two days of his summer vacation to help out this cause.
To be a safe quality prgram we have to have a boat driver, a safety pinner (they release the rope from the boat in event of a fall), and side skiers.
So,
Without further adeu....
Here is our group of volunteers getting ready for a nice show ski around the course.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/Sideskiers.jpg
We got them in the water and made them ski a lap.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/Lap1.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/SS1.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k483/wspeedin/SS2.jpg