Directly following Utah's Olympic Winter Games of February 2002 will be the Paralympic Games, March 7 - 16, 2002, with 1,100 athletes and officials from 35 nations converging on Utah's resorts to compete. But Utah has provided a warm welcome to disabled athletes well before 2002, and will go on doing so after the Games have departed.

Utah is a great choice of destination for anyone looking for an Adaptive Skiing programme. Several highly respected programmes for handicapped winter sports athletes have been in place for years and are part of the fabric of Utah's winter sports community. Although it is a long way to travel from the UK, you can be sure that if you make the effort you will find the facilities for disabled athletes second to none in the world.

National Ability Center, Park City

The National Ability Center, Park City, Utah, is dedicated to the development of lifetime skills for persons with disabilities and their families by providing affordable, quality sports and recreation experiences. The benefits of these experiences build self-esteem and confidence, enhancing active participation in the fabric of community life. It's the Center's belief that individuals with disabilitie should enjoy the full range of activities that life's experiences can offer. Through these experiences, disabled individuals can gain the self-confidence and motivation necessary to be productive in society. "If I Can Do This, I Can Do Anything" is the message of their motto.

The center, formerly Park City Handicapped Sports Association, was founded in 1985 as a joint effort of Meeche White and Peter Badewitz. White, who has a formal degree in therapeutic recreation, and Badewitz, himself disabled and a one-time member of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, decided to start a disabled ski programme back in the early 1980's. They started offering ski lessons for the first time in the winter of 1985 and offered 45 ski lessons to the area's disabled residents. Last season, from its headquarters at Park City Mountain Resort, the Center provided over 4000 lessons in the area of skiing, horseback riding, swimming, basketball, waterskiing and other sports and recreational activities.

The National Ability Center is a local chapter of Disabled Sports USA (formerly National Handicapped Sports) and an accredited operating center for the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). Participants range from 3 to 75 years of age with a variety of disabilities including: orthopaedic, spinal chord, neuro-muscular, visual and hearing impairments, as well as individuals with developmental disabilities.

Each winter the Center offers racer training for individuals with physical disabilities, Special Olympic racer training and cross-country and downhill ski lessons for persons with a wide variety of disabilities. The ski programme operates in conjunction with the Park City Mountain Resort and utilises professionally trained ski instructors who teach from beginners to advanced skiers. Within the ski season the National Ability Center proudly hosts the Huntsman Cup: racers from over 20 states and several countries, as well as the entire U.S. Disabled Ski Team, participate in this premier event.

For more information on the Utah National Ability Center, call +1 (435) 649-3991 or visit the National Ability Center website.

Snowbird Adaptive Sports Programme

Going strong for nearly 25 years now, Director Peter Mandler established this programme in 1977. The non-profit organisation provides skiing and snowboarding opportunities for mentally and physically disabled people of all ages. Snowbird Adaptive Sports also works with the local Primary Children's Medical Center and Shriners Hospital to provide rehab for young patients. Winter activities include skiing, snowboarding, orienteering and snowshoeing. Summer offerings are orienteering and hiking.

For more information on the Snowbird Adaptive Sports Programme, call +1 (801) 933-2188 or visit SkiUtah.

United States Disabled Ski Team

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Asscociation celebrated its 25th anniversary in Park City during the 1999/2000 season. The disabled programme is an integral part of the team. Disabled ski team members like Chris Waddell have brought international recognition to the U.S. Disabled Ski Team with five Paralympics medals and two World Championship gold medals.