Athletes Receive New Adaptive Sports Equipment During Ski Spec Ceremony Thanks to The Hartford's Ability Equipped Program

During the 32^nd Annual The Hartford Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge, Colorado, U. S. Paralympic Medalist Hailey Danz had the opportunity to surprise three athletes, including Colleen Murphy and John McDonough, with new adaptive sports equipment, thanks to The Hartford’s Ability Equipped program.

Colleen Murphy loves skiing. “You have this feeling of independence that a wheelchair can’t give you,” she said about getting out on the slopes.

She’s been skiing her entire life, starting at the age of two. “My parents, they met skiing, so they made it a family thing,” she said.

Growing up outside of Boston, the family would spend winters in and around the mountains of New England, skiing and enjoying family time. But 5 years ago their ski trips changed.

Colleen, now 21, has spina bifida tether cord syndrome that led to paralysis. At the age of 16, she was no longer able to walk and started using a wheelchair to get around. “It was scary going from being able to walk completely, to being paralyzed in a short period of time,” she said.

But she wasn’t going to give up the sport she loved. She asked around for local programs, and was introduced to New England Disabled Sports, a chapter of Disabled Sports USA that was about two hours from her home. They introduced her to the world of adaptive skiing, and Colleen fell in love all over again.

“Skiing brought me back to myself, and made me realize that even though I am paralyzed, I can still do the things that I really want to,” she said. “I was able to have the thrill I once had before. Skiing just brought back my confidence.”

She now uses a Dynamique bi ski to zip down the mountains. She was presented with a new one during the Ability Equipped Ceremony. The ski consists of a bucket sitting atop of two skis. Her instructors use long ropes connected to the skis called tethers to help guide her down the mountain, and she uses two outriggers, which look like ski poles with a small ski tip at the bottom, to help her balance and guide herself down the mountain.

“It just bridges that gap to independence,” she said of her bi-ski. “You can do everything you could have done before, just in a different way. It’s almost more fun.”

Her goal at Ski Spec was to become independent in her skiing, ski without the assistance of her instructors tethering her, and work up to steeper terrain.

Someday she hopes to progress to a monoski, which is a similar set up, but with only one ski underneath. She even wants to try racing some day. “I really like going fast, so I think I would definitely fit in,” she said.

She knows that progression to racing might not be easy, but patience and persistence is a lesson she’s learned from her years out on the slopes. “Skiing has taught me patience,” she said. “Put in the time and effort and you’ll get there, but it’s not instantaneous, but is anything in life?”

She says that’s translated to much of her life, including her college plans. She plans to return to UMass Amherst next fall to study microbiology and the progression of cancer through cells.

For now, Colleen was just excited to be out in Breckenridge with her family at Ski Spec. It means they had the opportunity to continue a sport they all love together. “It’s good to escape from reality, and feel that wind in your face and not worry about work or school or whatever is preoccupying your mind,” she said.

The week also allowed her to meet others who participate in adaptive sports, and make the connections between her home programs and other instructors and programs across the country. “I’ve been running into everyone,” she said. “It makes me feel like I’m skiing at home, and seeing two worlds almost combine, and realize that the disability community is one, and they all come together for the greater cause to bring fun and joy to situations that could be otherwise.”

John McDonough, 18, doesn’t remember exactly when he started skiing, but the sport has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.

His mom had been a skier, and wanted to take John with her on ski trips. John was born with Cerebral Palsy, which affects his walking, and his left arm is weaker than his right arm. So she did some research for a program that could teach him to ski and also found New England Disabled Sports (NEDS), and took John for his first lesson when he was about 6 or 7 years old.

John skis using stand up skis with wedges attached to the skis to help with balance, and he uses an outrigger on his right arm instead of a pole to assist with his balance. “At the very beginning, obviously I was not that good at skiing,” he said. “It took a lot of work.”

But John did that work because he fell in love with going fast, being outdoors and participating in a sport that perhaps others thought he might not be able to. “You get to not only see the views of the mountain as you’re going down, but you get to have freedom out there on the mountain,” he said.

He believes that freedom is particularly important for him and others with disabilities.

As he’s grown up with NEDS, he’s become a part of that community, meeting new friends, and getting to develop relationships with his instructors and coaches who’ve helped push him to get better. It’s also allowed him to see a whole community of people with a variety of ability levels and understand how people participate in sports in so many different ways.

“I get to interact with the coaches, and they are people that you can really look up to. They understand where you’re coming from,” he said.

He also found that as he continued skiing with the New England Disabled Sports program, the hard work that he put in paid off on the slopes as well as in the rest of his life. “Back in the day when I was younger, it was hard for me to get around,” he said. “As I continued to do PT and programs like NEDS, it really helped my body be able to build up strength.”

He also likes participating because of the opportunities they provide. “It just gives you the opportunity to go out there and experience stuff,” he said. “And especially with adaptive, sometimes people are like ‘oh, you can’t do that’, and adaptive is a little bit of a different way of doing stuff, but you still get to the same place.”

That place for John is one where he feels confident to come to Breckenridge, Colorado for Disabled Sports USA’s The Hartford Ski Spectacular and meet a whole new group of adaptive athletes.

Being from the East Coast, he was excited to get out on the Colorado mountains. “On the East Coast, the slopes are more narrow than they are here, and a lot icier, so I was expecting to fall, but I did not. It was pretty good,” he said with a bit of a smile on his face.

He too used the week to get better at skiing and pick up some new skills along the way. He’s also excited to become a part of this larger adaptive sports community that is here this week. “No matter where you are, and what program you’re in, if you have the right support system, and the right people who are willing to help you, then you’re going to be successful,” he said.

Although he focused on skiing during Ski Spec, The Hartford actually surprised John with a Greenspeed folding trike, which will allow him to cycle during the warmer months.

In addition to Colleen and John, The Hartford also surprised athlete Leanna Bouma with equipment. Two chapters of Disabled Sports USA, NEDS and Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte, also received new equipment for their adaptive sports programs during the ceremony.