Working with the Handicap Ski Program
The roots of adaptive skiing were in war and accidental injuries. In 1942 Franz Wendel was the first person to enter a competition for people who are handicapped. After suffering a leg amputation in the war, he fashioned a pair of crutches and attached them to short skis enabling him to crutch ski. By the late 1940's the Austrian Ski Association was financing a division for handicapped skiers while at the same time European and American programs at army hospitals were developing. The Vietnam War produced many unfortunate casualties but also provided a boost to the development of adaptive skiing. Equipment and facilities have continued to grow and improve in recent years. A new era began in 1983 when the International Olympic Committee sanctioned the Third World Winter Games for the Disabled. Not only did this boost the prestige of the program, it also helped to promote fund raising efforts and program development worldwide. The Third World Disabled Ski Championships were held in 1986 in Sweden and the United States placed first.
So why is there skiing for people with disabilities? Outdoor recreation is fun and healthy for everyone. For people with disabilities, skiing means adventure, exercise, se...
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...skis are used for skiers unable to ambulate at all. Mono skiers require more upper body strength to use the equipment. Today with advanced technology, the bi ski is replacing the sit ski.
Since the completion of my training program I have had students of varying ages, disabilities and skiing levels. They have provided many new learning experiences for me. Without a doubt I have consistently observed the pleasure this sport gives to the students and their families. Physical and mental growth are very important to the overall well being of the student. Sharing my skills and love of skiing has been fun and rewarding to me.
In order to reduce the frictional forces which would slow them down, skiers wax the bottom of their skis. The types of wax which they apply to their skis have different functions. The hot wax which is applied to the entire ski reduces the friction between the ski and the snow. This allows the ski to glide on the snow and gives the skier more distance for each stride.
Nancy Mairs article, “Disability” (1987), explains that the world is trying to block out the fact that disability is known to be everywhere and how companies and commercial advertisers are trying to not show disabled people on their commercials so that is shows that everyone can use their product besides disabled persons. Mairs doesn 't believe this though, she believes that advertisers are scared to depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may
The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”
At 6pm on a Saturday evening, Sally and her parents were on their way to go skiing for their 20th time. The whole family was extremely excited and looking forward to this, especially since the place was somewhere they’d never been to before. As they were in the car, Sally was daydreaming about what the place would look like, and wondered if her worst fear would be there: ski lifts. Everything about this scared her. The car is out in the open, has no roof, and the ride could malfunction at any time. Since this unanswered question was on her mind now, she decided to ask her parents to see if they knew. “I’m just wondering, do either of you know if there are going to be ski lifts at the place?” Both of her parents paused in confusion but didn’t
I began to wonder where and how therapeutic riding originated. In my research I found that therapeutic riding was not taken seriously until Liz Hartel, a Danish rider who had paralysis from poliomyelitis, advanced to competitive riding. Despite the fact that Liz suffered from poliomyelitis, she “went on to win a silver medal in the Grand Prix Dressage competition at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games” (Young). After she won this great achievement, an interest around the world in the therapeutic effects of riding emerged; as a result, therapeutic riding programs were established and studies were initiated (Young). I think it is ironic how a person with a disability is so influential in helping other people with disabilities.
Ever since I was a young student, teachers knew that I was not a normal kid. These teachers saw qualities in me that they could not see in many students at that age level. They saw a child who had a profound love to know more and had the ambition of a decorated Olympic swimmer to learn not just the material that was being taught but why it is being taught and how I can I use this information to make people’s lives better. Fast-forward to today, and you can clearly see that not much has changed except my determination to learn and my love to help others has done nothing but expanded.
Burfoot, Amby. "The Disabled Athlete Has an Unfair Advantage." Footloose: Amby Burfoot's Notes from the Road (24 June 2007). Rpt. in The Olympics. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. General Onefile. Web.
The first story in the bible, which is the creation of everything, is the main source of justification for the oppression in woman in the church. The passage tells the story that God created all animals, implying that He created male and female animals; however when creating humans, this was not the case. God created man in the image of God but did not create woman at the same time nor in the same way. God felt that man was alone and it is not suitable for him not to have a mate (Genesis 2:18), so God created women. God created man by taking clay from the earth and breathing life into him (Genesis 2:7), however when creating woman he took one of Adam’s ribs and formed it with flesh (Genesis 2:22). Adam then say...
With these interpretations of God’s words, society as a whole has held women back. This is caused by the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and because Eve gave Adam the fruit, women have been held in responsibility for all of man’s mistakes. It also forced God to punish mankind with an ending life. This confirms why women have been discriminated on by men throughout time in religious scripture.
The depreciation of women and their overall inferior position in society can be attributed to the androcentric interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, especially the story of Adam and Eve. Throughout history, the story of Adam and Eve has been used by men to point out the inherent evil in women by pinning the eventual expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven on the neck of Eve. Eve has long been blamed for the expulsion from Heaven and in effect, women, even up until today, are portrayed as the “gateway to sin.”
Globally, there are about a billion people living with disability. As the years advance, the prevalence of disability is bound to rise. This will be as a result of various factors such as ageing. As people age the risk of acquiring chronic health conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis, mental health disorders, cancer and cardiovascular disease rises. Therefore, it is extremely vital for people to understand disability and what it entails.
Persons with disabilities encounter countless environmental and societal barriers which affect their daily lives. There is numerous definitions worldwide and in Canada for the term “disability”, and debates about who is considered a person with a disability. Winkler gives an elaborate definition of this term which will be used to define disability throughout this paper. Above and beyond the general definition, Winkler states “Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others” (2009, p. 329). Winkler mentions that in addition
Women’s rights in the Catholic Church, generally, are a controversial subject. Many people believe the Church is masculine and excludes women in any leadership rules. The Catholic Church has been around for over two thousand years. The modern world believes the Church is outdated. Jesus Christ lived during a time when women were secluded. It is time, in their thoughts, for the Catholics to change their beliefs to adequate with the contemporary society, some Catholics even deliberate with the idea of change. Pope Paul VI portrayed the Catholic Church in three words, tradition (the practices of the faith), magisterium (God’s Plan) and the Gospels (Jesus’ teachings). It is not the Church’s responsibility to change but to follow what they have been given, the Truth. As more go to the advanced society and the feminist movement continues on, the Church stays with their beliefs on who each of the sexes really are.
In the essay “Disability,” Nancy Mairs discusses the lack of media attention for the disabled, writing: “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anyone’s life.” An ordinary person has very little exposure to the disabled, and therefore can only draw conclusions from what is seen in the media. As soon as people can picture the disabled as regular people with a debilitating condition, they can begin to respect them and see to their needs without it seeming like an afterthought or a burden. As Mairs wrote: “The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time.” Looking at the issue from this angle, it is easy to see that many disabled people were ordinary people prior to some sort of accident. Mairs develops this po...
The Catholic Church has many reasons for not allowing women to be priests. One of these reasons is that the priest is supposed to embody the role of Christ as close as possible. Since Jesus Christ was a man and not a woman, then priests must be men in order to best be like Jesus. According to the Catholicism