11th Annual Wounded Warriors Weekend Reports
On Friday, February 6, 2015, Wintergreen Adaptive Sports welcomed 34 wounded warrior athletes and additional 60 family members and caregivers for an exciting weekend of adaptive snow sports instruction, rest and relaxation, and camaraderie.
To see some of the media coverage of the event, see the links below:
Wounded Warriors hit the slopes at Wintergreen
..."January 29th in 2004, I was wounded near Balad, Iraq,"said Matthew Staton, a wounded warrior and ski instructor. "I had gunshot wounds directly to the left hip, major damage to my left thigh and femoral bone, and bruising across the chest where the plates stopped the other bullets."
Many of the wounded warriors said the adaptive sports is a way to turn a new leaf on their life, some of them like Matthew Staton, even mastering the sport enough to teach fellow wounded warriors.
"It's kind of almost relaxing to them in a way, because they are not having to in a short sense, explain themselves of what they're been through, they know I've seen it and been there so we get right to the skiing," Staton said.
"Being in the military, there is an instant trust there, when they're going down the hill and we're going behind them, making sure they're doing the right thing and that nobody is going to run into them or anything like that, they know we have their sticks so it's always comforting," said Tim Payne, a wounded warrior and ski instructor.... READ THE ARTICLE HERE