OAS hosting snow day for students with visual impairments

Skiing is a sport that allows individual to move freely at speed through time and space and experience sheer exhilaration. People who are blind or have low visual can enjoy the exact same thing. On Wednesday, March 16, about 16 students with visual impairments from the High Desert Education Service District will join in a district wide snow day at Mt. Bachelor hosted by Oregon Adaptive Sports.

From never-ever skiers to confident intermediate skiers between the ages of 7 up to 17, everyone will get to play on the snow with guides provided by Oregon Adaptive Sports (OAS). The school group is coordinated by Nancy Abbott, a teacher who specializes in working with students with visual impairments from the High Desert ESD.

Prior to this snow day, OAS implements an annual training for its guides, which is lead by Nancy Stevens, a local and accomplished skier who was born blind. Stevens has cross-country skied for over 40 years and competed in Nagano, Japan through the U.S. Paralympic Cross Country Ski Team. Through her direction, guides are prepared in how to describe the surroundings, help choose the line of descent and provide verbal instructions as needed to skiers who are blind or have low vision.

With the mutual teamwork between Abbott, Stevens and OAS, this will be the ninth year in the making.