Communicating with my ski instructor

At the best of times, communication is probably the corner stone to success when it comes to being able to build a more than good relationship with one's instructor and as a blind person, I truly believe that it is even more important. I learned this at the end of January when I attended my second Ski for Light event in Colorado.

For those of you who are not familiar, Ski for Light is a weeklong event that is held for blind skiers. It is held in the United States and this year it was held in Colorado. Skiers from several countries attend including Canada, Britain, Norway, and other European countries. I do believe that Norway is the country that founded the Ski for Light Organization and got things going.

This year, I was privileged to have had a very intuitive and motivating instructor; a fabulous lady named Caroline Levanhar. From the outset, Caroline had me at ease. She was patient, encouraging, and willing to let me go at my own pace. I soon found myself skiing both in the tracks as well as out of the tracks. She had me doing turns, skiing up and down gentle hills, and gliding. What an experience. Then we went snowshoeing. Absolutely out of this world.

The key for me was communication and trust. I trusted Caroline all the way and never doubted her instructions. She and I developed a very special relationship and I thoroughly enjoyed her sense of humor. Thank you Caroline.

If you would like to learn more about how blind persons ski, visit www.skiforlight.org. I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others about the Ski for Light Organization.

Barriers to recreational sports

This continues to be a thorn in our sides and this is so because we need to keep depending on the sighted world for help.  We are not fully able to participate in many of the recreational sports on our own.

 

As an ice skater, I need help at the rink for someone to skate around with me because I am unable to ice skate on my own.  I do not have enough vision to skate on my own.  As a skier, the challenge is the same; I need someone to be my guide on the trail.  As a swimmer, I need sighted assistance when I swim in the pool with sighted persons. 

 

I am not sure if these barriers could be overcome but they can definitely be made easier to deal with.  How so?  We need to enlist the assistance of the sighted world.  We need to make our requests and ask for help.  We need to convince the sighted world that there is a definite benefit to making recreational sports available to the blind and sight impaired.  A few months ago, I attended a Ski for Light event in Utah and what an experience it was.  I invite you now to visit this website and see for yourself.  www.skiforlight.org.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and spread the word.