- The Movement - One Man Joins an Uprising: Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports will present a screening of the film and an information session on their organization Friday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. at Capilano University's BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets ($15/$10), visit vass.ca.
Quite often when Tom Mooney meets someone new, he'll ask them whether they ski or snowboard.
The longtime Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports (VASS) instructor and current board member is always on the look out for new people to get involved with the organization. "Either they ski or they snowboard or they don't. If they don't, we can talk about something else," says Mooney, 57.
"We've got places for everybody," he adds.
The non-profit society runs a variety of ski and snowboard programs for people of all ages with physical or developmental disabilities on all three North Shore mountains: Grouse, Seymour and Cypress. "The benefits of what we do at VASS . . . . actually transmit into other areas of the participants' lives. The people that come and ski with us as students, the confidence that they get through our program is evident in other areas," says Mooney.
He initially got involved with VASS in light of his daughter, Vicki, who has a developmental disability. Now 29, Vicki has been an avid participant for a number of years.
"For my daughter it's almost like a recreational therapy. I would equate it to when my daughter was younger, she did horseback riding therapy. And so skiing for my daughter has the same type of concept in that it's building on your strengths and having successes, and making developmental progress," he says.
Those involved with VASS aim to make the mountain experience accessible to all and contribute to inclusion. "A child with autism or Down syndrome, when they go back to school on Monday morning and they have their lift ticket on their coat, the other kids are going 'Wow! You were skiing?' This might be a non-verbal individual that can't say to the other kids in the school, 'Hey I was at Grouse on the weekend in the powder,' but they know it when they see the ticket on the coat," says Mooney.
Program offerings range from beginner to advanced, and include snowboarding, sit-ski, stand-up skiing and advanced adaptive ski racing. VASS typically serves 160 participants annually, aided by more than 300 volunteers. Interested participants are currently encouraged to register, as well VASS is recruiting volunteers to come on board as instructors or to get involved in other capacities. Instructor training will be held in January 2016, ensuring volunteers are certified, and well-versed in the use of the adaptive equipment and knowledgeable regarding specialized teaching techniques. Programs will begin thereafter and run for six weeks.
"We're constantly recruiting and training more volunteers," says Mooney, in light of the demand.
Many of their instructors come on board with VASS in their 20s, volunteer for a few years, go on to have families of their own and gradually fall away from the organization. "I'd like to really invite any previous volunteer instructors to come back and get involved in VASS again," he says.
VASS is supported by the three participating mountains, through community partnerships, private donations as well as from the proceeds of an annual fundraiser, the VASS Cup, held in March.
To raise awareness of the organization, those involved are presenting a film screening and information night Friday, Nov. 6 at the Capilano University BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. The evening's featured documentary is The Movement: One Man Joins an Uprising, which follows the journey of Rick Finkelstein who, in 2004, was paralyzed in a ski accident on Aspen Mountain. Six years and nine surgeries later, he makes a return to Aspen. The film also showcases four of his mentors who overcame their own disabilities and likewise found freedom through skiing. The 2011 documentary was narrated by Robert Redford and Warren Miller. In addition to the film screening, the evening will feature food and refreshments, door prizes and information booths.
For more information or to get involved in this winter's season, phone Ellen Fulton at 604-646-VASS (8277) or visit vass.ca.
