VIDALIA DISABLED VETERAN SKIS THE GREAT ROCKY MOUNTAINS

Snowmass, Colo. -- April 7, 2005 -- Andre Bateman, an Army veteran from Vidalia, Ga.,is enjoying the challenge of skiing, and an opportunity for self-development at the 19th National Disabled Veterans Winter Soprts Clinic. The Clinic is taking place April 3 - 8 in Snowmass Village, Colo. Established in 1987, the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic is the largest annual rehabilitation event of its kind in the world. It is co-sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).

Bateman, 34, a combat veteran of the Gulf War (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm), is among more than 300 U.S. military veterans from 47 states who have gathered in Snowmass to learn or improve their skills in adaptive Alpine and Nordic skiing and snowboarding. The Clinic promotes rehabilitation by teaching downhill and cross-country skiing to veterans with significant physical or visual impairments. It also offers a variety of adaptive activities and sports for Bateman to take part in, including scuba diving, rock climbing, sled hockey, snowmobiling and self-defense. Nearly 50 veterans recently injured in Iraq are participating in the Clinic this year.

Bateman, is an amputee , (right leg below the knee), and receives care at the the VA medical facility in Dublin, Ga., He is a beginner skier and will Alpine (downhill) ski using an adapted device or method for disabled skiers (Ski descriptions are posted on the Clinic's web site: www.wintersportsclinic.org. See Adaptive Skiing page.)

"I have been looking forward to swishing down the powdery, white slopes," said Bateman. "The Winter Sports Clinic is a wonderful event, and I would suggest that other veterans with amputations attend. It could be open the door to a whole new world, where other people like them are living life to the fullest."

With 1,300 health care facilities across the United States, VA is a recognized leader in rehabilitative and recreational therapies. DAV is a nonprofit, Congressionally chartered veterans service organization with a membership of more than one million wartime disabled veterans. The Winter Sports Clinic provides disabled veterans with sports and leisure activities that they may have felt were closed to them because of their disabilities. All Clinic activities demonstrate that having a physical or visual disability need not be an obstacle to an active, rewarding life.

Page Last Reviewed/Modified: Thursday, April 7, 2005 9:39 AM