Hartford Ski Spectacular Honors Injured Soldiers

The 18th Annual Hartford Ski Spectacular was again held last December at the Beaver Run Resort and the Breckenridge Ski Area, Breckenridge, Colorado. The event is conducted each year by Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA), Rockville, Maryland, and sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the founding sponsor of the US Paralympics.

More than 600 disabled participants, including more than 50 American soldiers and marines injured in conflict abroad, spent December 4-11 in Breckenridge taking part in ski and snowboard lessons and clinics.

"Since 1967, Disabled Sports USA's mission has been to promote sports as an important aspect of rehabilitation. The Hartford Ski Spectacular allows participants the opportunity to test their limitations and then surpass them," said Kirk Bauer, executive director of DS/USA and a disabled Vietnam veteran. The soldiers attended as part of the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project conducted by The Wounded Warrior Project and DS/USA and members of the US Paralympic Team were available throughout the week pro­viding support and advice to all participants.

The Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, working with Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Washington DC, and Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, pro­vides sports re­hab­ilitation pro­grams for service members in­jured in the line of duty, and--through donations--provides them with participation in sports events free of charge.

CAF Recognized During Rose Bowl

Several athletes from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Del Mar, California, were recognized in a televised half-time presentation during the January 4, 2006, Rose Bowl college football championship game in Pasadena, California.

The Rose Bowl Game featured unde­feated teams USC and Texas battling for the National Championship, with the Texas Longhorns defeating the USC Trojans 41-38 in an exciting fourth-quarter finish.

CAF was featured in the Chairman's Mess­age shown at half-time and 50 CAF representatives also attended the game. Citi Bank, the title sponsor of the Rose Bowl, selected CAF as the official charity of the game.

As part of the presentation, Rudy Garcia-Tolson, Sara Reinertsen and Captain David Rozelle spoke about CAF with a group of several other challenged athletes arranged around them holding a Challenged Athletes Foundation banner in the background.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Extremity Games

College Park, Fraser, Mich­igan, is accepting registrations for its O&P Extremity Games scheduled for July 28-30, 2006, in Orlando, Florida. The O&P Extremity Games by College Park is an extreme amateur sporting competition for individuals 13 years of age and older living with limb loss or limb difference. Competitions include skateboarding, BMX biking, rock climbing, and wakeboarding. A $25,000 total cash purse is available.

For more information visit www.extremitygames.com

OPAF Golf Grant

The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund (OPAF) an­nounced it is the recipient of a Wadsworth Charities Golf Foundation grant for 2006. The most recent First Swing clinic sponsored by OPAF was held in cooperation with Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC, for returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Wadsworth Charities Golf Foundation is dedicated to improving society through embodiment of the moral, ethical, and cultural codes of the game of golf. First Swing is an adaptive golf program, developed by Bob Wilson, National Amputee Golf Association executive director and bilateral amputee, for instructing therapists to teach and encourage the game of golf to those with physical challenges.

Russia Standing Ice Hockey

The Russian National Team beat Team Europe to capture the International Standing Ice Hockey Federation Super Cup in late November at a match held at the Yubileiny Ice Place in St. Petersburg, Russia. Team Europe comprises players from Latvia, Czech Republic, and Israel. The match was a part of the Tenth Russian National "People and Health" Congress. The joint Standing/Sledge Ice Hockey project was organized by the International Paralympic Committee Ice Hockey Committee, the Russian and Estonian Paralympic Committees, the "People and Health Congress," and the International Standing Ice Hockey Federation (ISIHF).

	Paralympic Athletes Travel Glory Road - May 2006 The 2006 winter Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy, began and ended in a blaze of glory. From March 10-19, participating athletes provided examples of hope, integrity, and courage that touched the world. Feature
	Winter Sports Clinic Creates "Miracles on a Mountainside" - June 2005 Feature
	Disabled Skiers Retire - February 2003 The Sports Page
	Cable Receives Courage Award - February 2003 The Sports Page
	15th Annual Ski Spectacular - February 2003 The Sports Page

Table Of Contents - February 2006

	Unquenchable Spirit: The Cameron Clapp Story Feature
	Do Your Organizational Dynamics Determine Your Operational Success? Feature
	Getting O&P Companies Up and Running after Katrina: Why Does the Insurance Response Seem So Slow? Feature - Exclusively Online
	Stock-and-Bill: Sleeping with the Enemy? Feature
	Sports Bracing: A Whole New Game Feature
	Minimizing the Risk of Workplace Litigation Legal EDGE
	Hartford Ski Spectacular Honors Injured Soldiers Sports Page
	Got FAQs? Got FAQs?
	Felipe Villanueva, CPO Profile
	Uniting Frontiers By Rosie Jované Perspective
	From the Editor: Young Amputee Aims High, Enjoys Life ‘Impossible’ is an opinion, not a fact.’ Viewpoint