The Adaptive Sports Center (ASC) of Crested Butte, Colorado is a non-profit organization that provides year-round recreation activities for people with disabilities and their families.


Mission
To enhance the lives of people with disabilities by promoting & providing successful outdoor adventure activities and experiential education with the highest quality instruction and equipment available.


History
The ASC was founded in 1987 when President and Mrs. Carter joined a group of local residents to form the Physically Challenged Ski Program of Crested Butte. Since then, the program has evolved into the year-round, nationally recognized Adaptive Sports Center. Thanks to the support of volunteers, dedicated instructors and staff, as well as the local community, the ASC has thrived and grown from providing 30 alpine ski lessons during its first winter to becoming one of the premiere outdoor adaptive recreation programs in the world, offering over 3,600 activities annually.

Clients
We provide recreational instruction for people with physical disabilities such as multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, amputations, traumatic brain injury, and visual and hearing impairments. We also provide services for individuals with cognitive-related disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism, ADD, ADHD, and other emotional and behavioral disorders, as well as at-risk-youth.

The Adaptive Sports Center stands out as an organization committed to our clients' well-being and success. Unlike other programs in the adaptive industry that are volunteer-based, we send every client out on a private lesson with a professional instructor. We make every effort to ensure that a client has the same instructor throughout the duration of his or her visit.

ASC participants include people from the U.K., Canada, Panama, Australia, Argentina, Lebanon, Brazil, Japan, Wales and Norway.

Programs
Surrounded by the magnificent Elk Mountains, the Adaptive Sports Center offers a full line of summer and winter outdoor activities ranging from skiing and rafting to wellness retreats and programs on our universally designed ropes course. The skills, self-confidence and empowerment gained while participating in these adaptive activities transfer into our clients' daily lives leading to healthier, happier, more active individuals.

The Adaptive Sports Center stands out as an organization committed to our clients' well-being and success. Unlike other programs in the adaptive industry that are volunteer-based, we send every client out on a private lesson with a professional instructor/guide. Instructors/guides are chosen to fit each client's particular personality and skill set, and we make every effort to ensure that a client has the same instructor/guide throughout the duration of his or her visit.

The Adaptive Sports Center is recognized as an organization committed to inclusion and strengthening families. Similar programs for people with disabilities only serve that population, which does not allow, for example, a child with autism to go skiing with her or his family. The ASC believes in strengthening the soul as well as the body and views a person's support system as imperative to this effort.

The ASC is known as an advocate for accessibility and equality for people with disabilities on a local, national and international level. We increase awareness of accessibility within our community and beyond by participating with the Gunnison County Trails Commission and consulting with municipal building inspectors, zoning boards, town councils, public transportation entities and business owners to uphold and in most cases exceed mandated accessibility guidelines. We also send staff to other parts of the country and the world to increase awareness of accessibility issues, train adaptive instructors and begin new adaptive programs.

The ASC is celebrated throughout the world as an organization committed to creating and expanding recreational opportunities and experiential learning to people with disabilities. We send staff to lead a variety of clinics and consultations throughout the United States, Europe and South America. The ASC is proud to have been the impetus to starting an adaptive sports program at the Bariloche ski area in Argentina and helping develop a similar program in San Martin de los Andes, Argentina. ASC participants include people from the U.K., Canada, Panama, Australia, Argentina, Lebanon, Brazil, Japan, Wales and Norway.

 
Vision
We believe the Adaptive Sports Center is the national model in adaptive recreation. We continue to focus on the elements of our program that have set it apart: Wellness, Inclusion and Innovation. Steps we are taking to this end include:

• Working with Brigham Young University to evaluate and improve the long-term effects of adaptive recreation on a person's quality of life, medical expenses and life expectancy. This study is the first of its kind in the adaptive recreation industry.
  
• Continuing to ensure that our programs are accessible to everyone who seeks to participate. This will be accomplished by successful fundraising that enables us to provide affordable programs and scholarships to everyone who applies and qualifies.
  
• Building a state-of-the-art, universally-designed green village that will not only be the home to current ASC programs and administration but also provide accommodations for visiting clients and leave room for future growth. The main facility will house current ASC programs and a resource center for people with disabilities with the most up-to-date and technologically-advanced information available.
   

For more information, visit the Adaptive Sports Center website or call
866.349.2296 | 970.349.2296