Snowmass, Colo. -- April 7, 2005 -- Robert Holt, an Air Force veteran from Layton, Utah,is enjoying the challenge
of skiing, and an opportunity for self-development at the19th National Disabled Veterans Winter Soprts Clinic. The
Clinic is taking place April 3 - 8 in Snowmass Village, Colo. Established in 1987, the National Disabled Veterans
Winter Sports Clinic is the largest annual rehabilitation event of its kind in the world. It is co-sponsored by the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
Holt, 75, is among more than 300 U.S. military veterans from 47 states who have gathered in Snowmass to learn or improve their skills in adaptive Alpine and Nordic skiing and snowboarding. The Clinic promotes rehabilitation by teaching downhill and cross-country skiing to veterans with significant physical or visual impairments. It also offers a variety of adaptive activities and sports for Holt to take part in, including scuba diving, rock climbing, sled hockey, snowmobiling and self-defense. Nearly 50 veterans recently injured in Iraq are participating in the Clinic this year.
Holt, is visually impaired, and receives care at the the VA medical facility in Salt Lake City, Utah., He is an intermediate skier and will Alpine (downhill) and Nordic (cross-country) ski using a 2-track ski (regular Alpine or Nordic skis and poles) and a sighted guide (Ski descriptions are posted on the Clinic's web site: www.wintersportsclinic.org. See Adaptive Skiing page.)
"I would encourage newly disabled veterans to participate in the Clinic," said Holt. "I find it a great
self-confidence builder, and it helps you get back in the mainstream of life again."
With 1,300 health care facilities across the United States, VA is a recognized leader in rehabilitative and
recreational therapies. DAV is a nonprofit, Congressionally chartered veterans service organization with a membership of more than one million wartime disabled veterans. The Winter Sports Clinic provides disabled veterans with sports and leisure activities that they may have felt were closed to them because of their disabilities. All Clinic
activities demonstrate that having a physical or visual disability need not be an obstacle to an active, rewarding life.