Disabilities Without Boundaries still has scholarship(s) for a non U.S. athlete available!!
Scholarships are for a female skier or skiers with physical disabilities to be part of the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) Alpine Racing Team. The NSCD is located in Winter Park, Colorado USA and has one of the best disabled alpine training programs in the world. Whether you’re just getting into racing or have already excelled, it’s a great place to train! You will train alongside some of the best athletes from the U.S. and other countries. Most years, the NSCD Alpine Racing Team has more than 5 full time athletes from various countries that are on their National teams and between 5 and 10 full time athletes from the U.S. Disabled Ski Team.
We awarded scholarships to 3 American athletes last season and depending on need and interest there will be at least one scholarship available for racer from a country outside the U.S. This scholarship can be used to attend races or training with the NSCD and/or partially toward equipment needs.
The recipient will be chosen based on
• Long and short term goals of ski racing
• Commitment to the sport
• Financial need
In order to apply for this scholarship please submit your biography or resume along with a description of how this scholarship would help you, why you think you would be a good recipient and your upcoming ski goals. Please email this information or any questions to Hannah Pennington at hpennington@hotamil.com or Sandy Dukat at sandy_dukat@hotmail.com .
Scholarships
We have finally made a decision on our scholarship for the 2008-2009 ski season! We decided that 2 scholarships just wasn’t enough for us and we wanted to do more! Because of our applicants we made a decision to award three domestic scholarships this season. We are happy to announce our three recipients:
Danelle D'Aquanni Umstead (B2 classification)
Stephanie Jallen (LW9 classification)
Meghan Erickson (LW2 classification)
Hopefully we can continue to raise awareness and funds and can distribute both domestic and international scholarships next year.
Danelle D'Aquanni Umstead (B2 classification)
Stephanie Jallen (LW9 classification)
Meghan Erickson (LW2 classification)
Hopefully we can continue to raise awareness and funds and can distribute both domestic and international scholarships next year.
5...4...3...2...1...
1 Mission
We will summit Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for people and athletes with physical disabilities. Our goal is to raise a dollar for every foot of altitude that we go up and down on Kilimanjaro. That’s right, we want to raise $19,340 for our ascent and $19,340 for our descent, with a total goal being $38,680. We are doing this for....
2 New scholarships
Two new scholarships for female athletes with physical disabilities giving them the chance to train and race with the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) in Winter Park, Colorado. We want to show the world that people with physical disabilities can reach and surpass the same heights as able bodied people.
3 Nationalities
There are three nationalities of women doing this climb. Katja from Finland, Hannah, Sandy and Kati from the USA, and Liz from the UK. Bringing nationalities together in the quest to raise awareness for women and athletes with physical disabilities is important to us. We are trying to reach out beyond the usual parameters.
4 Different Disabilities
We have one climber who is an above knee amputee from bone cancer, one above the knee amputee from a congenital disorder called PFFD (in short), one with cerebral palsy and two below the knee amputees from accidents 10 years ago.
5 Women
Five strong women trying to show the world how 6 legs can get up the highest free standing mountain in the world!
We will summit Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for people and athletes with physical disabilities. Our goal is to raise a dollar for every foot of altitude that we go up and down on Kilimanjaro. That’s right, we want to raise $19,340 for our ascent and $19,340 for our descent, with a total goal being $38,680. We are doing this for....
2 New scholarships
Two new scholarships for female athletes with physical disabilities giving them the chance to train and race with the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) in Winter Park, Colorado. We want to show the world that people with physical disabilities can reach and surpass the same heights as able bodied people.
3 Nationalities
There are three nationalities of women doing this climb. Katja from Finland, Hannah, Sandy and Kati from the USA, and Liz from the UK. Bringing nationalities together in the quest to raise awareness for women and athletes with physical disabilities is important to us. We are trying to reach out beyond the usual parameters.
4 Different Disabilities
We have one climber who is an above knee amputee from bone cancer, one above the knee amputee from a congenital disorder called PFFD (in short), one with cerebral palsy and two below the knee amputees from accidents 10 years ago.
5 Women
Five strong women trying to show the world how 6 legs can get up the highest free standing mountain in the world!
SUMMIT COMPLETE
We just finished our African adventure 2 days ago. There was laughter, tears, dirt and sweat but the 5 of us got up and down Mt. Kilimanjaro successfully. One making it to Gilman’s Point and the rest reaching Uhuru Peak!
The trek was a long but fun 6 days. There is so much to tell…
…in short we went through the gamut of emotions and external issues including heath concerns, medical issues, weather, lack of sleep, lack of food consumption and lots of hours of hiking, but we did it! Day 5 (but it really all started on Day 4) was our summit day and it was very difficult in every way. Adrenaline can only take you so far but we pushed through. From the time I left our base camp at the Kibo Hut, went to the summit and returned back to base camp I had hiked for 15 hours! The worst part was that was not the end of the day, we had to hike 4 more hours to reach our next camp. Looking back I don’t know how I made it through some of the toughest moments along the way, but some how we managed it together. We are a strong group of women, disabled or not, and we really showed our strengths out on the mountain!
Below is a shot of us celebrating together when we finally reached the hotel on Day 6.
The trek was a long but fun 6 days. There is so much to tell…
…in short we went through the gamut of emotions and external issues including heath concerns, medical issues, weather, lack of sleep, lack of food consumption and lots of hours of hiking, but we did it! Day 5 (but it really all started on Day 4) was our summit day and it was very difficult in every way. Adrenaline can only take you so far but we pushed through. From the time I left our base camp at the Kibo Hut, went to the summit and returned back to base camp I had hiked for 15 hours! The worst part was that was not the end of the day, we had to hike 4 more hours to reach our next camp. Looking back I don’t know how I made it through some of the toughest moments along the way, but some how we managed it together. We are a strong group of women, disabled or not, and we really showed our strengths out on the mountain!
Below is a shot of us celebrating together when we finally reached the hotel on Day 6.
Thanks for Everything- from Liz
Dear Friends
When I woke up on the first morning after our first night’s camping I got my first proper glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro and then that’s when it hit me ‘what on earth am I doing?’!
It had been a dream of mine to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for about 10 years. A friend at college went to climb it with her mother and I thought ‘I could do that’. But now I was standing at the base of the mountain, I really was thinking ‘you stupid girl!’
But the fears soon went as I enjoyed the climb.
We took a route called Rongai which starts at the north east side of the mountain. It is the second easiest route on the mountain, which is one of the reasons why we chose it, but also because it is a far quieter track.
We started the hike on Tuesday 11th September. It really was a relief to finally start the hike. I had had the journey from hell trying to get to Tanzania. It all started a couple of weeks before when I was told that I could not leave the USA as I had a green card (work visa) application in process. Together with my lawyer I tried every avenue to work out how I could leave the country to go to Africa but everything was stacked against us.
However, just 12 hours before I was meant to leave I received a phone call from my lawyer explaining that the whole of my green card application had been lost and therefore I could leave. It was a mad dash to get everything ready but I finally boarded the flight the next morning, set for the UK.
I arrived in the UK on the morning of Sunday 9th, Dad picked me up and frantically drove back to Brockenhurst, I packed more of my things and then we frantically drove back to Heathrow. At 8pm that evening I boarded a flight for Amsterdam.
This was it, or at least I thought. I am finally going to Africa to fulfil my dream of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. But, oh no, I should have realised by now that it was not going to be that easy! I landed in Amsterdam and went to get a hotel only to find out that all my bank cards would not work in any of the ATM’s in Amsterdam! Great! This led me to my first experience of sleeping on top of my bags in a foreign airport. Oh the joy!
After numerous attempts to use my card the following morning at the bureau de change, my card was finally accepted and I managed to get some money to pursue my journey. I eventually got on the flight to Kilimanjaro and slept the whole of the 8 hour flight! Bear in mind, until the flight I had had only 8 hours sleep in 60 hours – I was exhausted.
Again, I made the fatal mistake of thinking that I was finally on my way! Surely nothing else could go wrong?! I landed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport that evening at about 9pm and waited for the tour company to pick me up. But no that would have been easy! Because of all my problems with the green card I was actually on a different flight to my co hikers; they had arrived the night before. I had told the tour company that I would be on the following days flight and my friends had told me that they would ensure that there would be somebody to pick me up. However, there would have appeared to be some bad communication somewhere along the line.
... read more of her story at http://www.lizmillerskiracer.com/page2.htm...
If you would like to see photos of the trip they are on the internet at:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Disabilitieswithoutborders/
and to read about the other girls experience you can read them on the blog at:
www.disabilitieswithoutborders.blogspot.com
Thank you once again everyone, I have been amazed at the amount of support I have received from family and friends from all over the world.
Best wishes
Liz
When I woke up on the first morning after our first night’s camping I got my first proper glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro and then that’s when it hit me ‘what on earth am I doing?’!
It had been a dream of mine to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for about 10 years. A friend at college went to climb it with her mother and I thought ‘I could do that’. But now I was standing at the base of the mountain, I really was thinking ‘you stupid girl!’
But the fears soon went as I enjoyed the climb.
We took a route called Rongai which starts at the north east side of the mountain. It is the second easiest route on the mountain, which is one of the reasons why we chose it, but also because it is a far quieter track.
We started the hike on Tuesday 11th September. It really was a relief to finally start the hike. I had had the journey from hell trying to get to Tanzania. It all started a couple of weeks before when I was told that I could not leave the USA as I had a green card (work visa) application in process. Together with my lawyer I tried every avenue to work out how I could leave the country to go to Africa but everything was stacked against us.
However, just 12 hours before I was meant to leave I received a phone call from my lawyer explaining that the whole of my green card application had been lost and therefore I could leave. It was a mad dash to get everything ready but I finally boarded the flight the next morning, set for the UK.
I arrived in the UK on the morning of Sunday 9th, Dad picked me up and frantically drove back to Brockenhurst, I packed more of my things and then we frantically drove back to Heathrow. At 8pm that evening I boarded a flight for Amsterdam.
This was it, or at least I thought. I am finally going to Africa to fulfil my dream of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. But, oh no, I should have realised by now that it was not going to be that easy! I landed in Amsterdam and went to get a hotel only to find out that all my bank cards would not work in any of the ATM’s in Amsterdam! Great! This led me to my first experience of sleeping on top of my bags in a foreign airport. Oh the joy!
After numerous attempts to use my card the following morning at the bureau de change, my card was finally accepted and I managed to get some money to pursue my journey. I eventually got on the flight to Kilimanjaro and slept the whole of the 8 hour flight! Bear in mind, until the flight I had had only 8 hours sleep in 60 hours – I was exhausted.
Again, I made the fatal mistake of thinking that I was finally on my way! Surely nothing else could go wrong?! I landed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport that evening at about 9pm and waited for the tour company to pick me up. But no that would have been easy! Because of all my problems with the green card I was actually on a different flight to my co hikers; they had arrived the night before. I had told the tour company that I would be on the following days flight and my friends had told me that they would ensure that there would be somebody to pick me up. However, there would have appeared to be some bad communication somewhere along the line.
... read more of her story at http://www.lizmillerskiracer.com/page2.htm...
If you would like to see photos of the trip they are on the internet at:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Disabilitieswithoutborders/
and to read about the other girls experience you can read them on the blog at:
www.disabilitieswithoutborders.blogspot.com
Thank you once again everyone, I have been amazed at the amount of support I have received from family and friends from all over the world.
Best wishes
Liz
We did it! Thoughts from Katja
When Hannah called me and asked if I’d be interested to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. I didn’t hesitate for one second to agree, I knew that it would be an amazing adventure but I couldn’t have ever imagined how great the experience was going to be.
Hiking in such a high altitude was the hardest but also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. In the beginning I was walking way too fast and I was feeling horrible. It was amazing when I slowed my pace started to learn to listen my body and I found my rhythm. I think that my biggest fight was with my own thoughts. Hour after hour I just had to control my breathing and take one step at the time. The most important thing was that I pushed all the thoughts of pain and tiredness away and tried not to worry about anything.
I’ve always thought that if you want something hard enough you can have that. Still I was surprised how much more power you can find inside of you when you want to reach your goal. That was the feeling I wanted to bring down from the mountain. But I would have never gotten on the top of Kilimanjaro without the other ladies and our great guides and porters. I’m so happy and proud to be able to share this experience with you.
Mzuka madada!
Katja
Hiking in such a high altitude was the hardest but also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. In the beginning I was walking way too fast and I was feeling horrible. It was amazing when I slowed my pace started to learn to listen my body and I found my rhythm. I think that my biggest fight was with my own thoughts. Hour after hour I just had to control my breathing and take one step at the time. The most important thing was that I pushed all the thoughts of pain and tiredness away and tried not to worry about anything.
I’ve always thought that if you want something hard enough you can have that. Still I was surprised how much more power you can find inside of you when you want to reach your goal. That was the feeling I wanted to bring down from the mountain. But I would have never gotten on the top of Kilimanjaro without the other ladies and our great guides and porters. I’m so happy and proud to be able to share this experience with you.
Mzuka madada!
Katja
Liz Miller
Liz started skiing on vacation trips with her family. With a family very keen on skiing, it was inevitable that Liz would make a career out of the sport. However, in 1997 she had a skiing accident which resulted in her loosing her left leg below the knee. This did not stop her. She started ski racing whilst at university in the UK. It was there that she fell in love with the thrill of competition. After studying, and working a ski season in France she decided that she would give ski racing her best endeavour. It was then that Liz discovered the NSCD. Liz never had a problem with her disability, but it was the NSCD that really helped her accept her amputation and she has a lot to thank the organisation for providing this outstanding program and the support that it provides.
Liz enjoys numerous other sports. A keen tennis player and runner, she also takes pleasure in cycling, hiking, horse riding, to name but a few. She has a passion for extreme adrenalin activities, including sky diving and bungy jumping! Liz is currently living in Winter Park, Colorado and hopes to settle here in the near future.
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