News
Seever visits Annie’s House
Scott Wagar
01/20/2015
For a number of adaptive ski instructors at the Bottineau Winter Park they had a chance of a lifetime over the weekend to meet the world renowned ski instructor Kim Seevers who was in Bottineau over the weekend to assist the Park’s instructors prepare for their adaptive ski certification.
“Annie’s House brings me here today,” said Seever on Friday morning at the Bottineau Winter Park while she stood in Annie’s House, which is the only adaptive ski lodge in North Dakota. “I love it here. As I toured Annie’s House last night it stopped me in my tracks a couple of times because I have gotten to know Ann through the project. I can feel Annie here so I am sure Gary and Jenette (Ann’s parents) can feel her, too. And, having her bucket list on those beams is just the coolest thing.”
ANNIE’S HOUSE
In 2011, a joint proposal between the Bottineau Winter Park, Bottineau Community Foundation and New York Says Thank You Foundation, in association with the Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF), there was a request to the Foundation to share its “knowledge and expertise” to the Winter Park’s board and management to construct an adaptive ski program.
Within the proposal, it also called for Seever to come to Bottineau to train the volunteer ski instructors at the Bottineau Winter Park for its adaptive ski program.
Since the proposal, the Adaptive Sports Foundation has been granting information on building designs, business plans and how to maintain a volunteer adaptive ski program.
On Thursday, Seever came to Bottineau and spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday preparing the Park’s adaptive instructors for their final testing to become certified adaptive ski instructors. The test will take place this weekend while the athletes of the North Dakota Special Olympics participate in the 2015 Special Olympics Winter Games at the Bottineau Winter Park.
During her time at the winter park, Seever instructed over 20 local people on the adaptive disciplines to be come an adaptive trainer, which took place on the Park’s slopes and inside Annie’s House.
“The disciplines we went over included guides for visually impaired skiers; developmental and cognitive disabilities skiers; a three-track skier who would be an amputee who skis on one leg with two outriggers, which are forearm crutches with skies attached to the bottom of skis; four-track skier for someone with lower limb weakness for a variety of reasons with two skies and two outriggers; mono-skier who is someone who has upper body strength but can’t ski standing up for a variety reason and what is called a bi-ski which is a lower, kind of heavier more stable sitting ski which is for someone who has a disability that is very involved but doesn’t have the upper body strength to mono-ski.”
Seever was impressed with the area’s adaptive ski instructing students during their training with her.
“They’re good,” she said. “An adaptive instructor has to be adaptive and has to deal with whatever comes down the pike, and these instructors have proven they can handle what comes their way.”
SEEVER
Seever was born in North East, Pa., in the depths of snow country near Erie, Pa., where she spent her childhood skiing and started instructing individuals in the sport at the age of 16.
For over 30 years, Seever has been an education staff member for the Professional Ski Instructor (PSI) organization where she has been a ski educator, coach, instructor and director for the PSI.
Her career in skiing has also taken her to assisting adaptive skiers, which started for her when she was asked by her boss at PSI to assist an adaptive skier. Seever said she immediately had doubts in the request because she had never worked with children with disabilities, but through a little encouragement she made the decision to do it and she has never looked back.
“The minute you have one lesson with a kid with a disability that works, and you see the smile on the parents’ faces you’re just hooked,” Seever said, who has conducted around 4,000 adaptive lessons each year for the past 10 years.
One part of her adaptive instruction was becoming a guide for individuals who are adaptive skiers. In 2014, Seever guided for adaptive skier Staci Mannella, who competed as one of the youngest U.S. skiers at the Sochi Paralympic Olympics, and who placed sixth in slalom and giant slalom. Seever guided for Manella because the Olympian has Achromatopsia, a genetic disorder which makes her partially color blind and sensitive to light.
Seever was also part of Caitlin Sarubbi trip to the 2010 Vancover Paralympic Winter Games who competed as a visually impaired alpine skier.
“Guiding is a pretty neat experience,” Seever said. “I ski in front of the adaptive skier and we talk to one another through microphones inside their helmets. I also wear a florescent green bib so the skier can see me, and, at level it is just not a slow trek down the hill, it is done at a pretty good speed. In fact, Staci and I have been clocked at 65 miles per hour.”
Presently, Seever is a grant writer for the Adaptive Sports Foundation in Windham, N.Y., which is the first stand alone ski lodge for disabled children, young adults and wounded warriors.
LAST WORDS
Before Seever went back to New York, she wanted to encourage those who are or would like to become adaptive skiers, no matter what type of disability an individual might have, to contact the Bottineau Winter Park and make your dreams of skiing come true.
“And, when they come to us and they see their kids get all hooked up with the instructors and equipment and go out of the building and they see the kids still believing it is not going to happen, but it does, the excitement that they just did something is so great for both the kids and the parents. Don’t be afraid to call and try adaptive skiing because it will be worth it,” Seever added.
To contact the Bottineau Winter Park, call 263-4556 or go to skibwp.com.