Achieve Tahoe: Empowering People Through Adapted Sports

Grant Beall's story is a testament to the transformative power of outdoor recreation. At the age of 7, he learned how to ski at Achieve Tahoe, a nonprofit that provides adaptive, affordable and inclusive recreation for people of all types of disabilities and all ages. As a recent amputee, Grant was taught how to 3-track, which involves skiing on a single ski while using hand-held outriggers, crutches with small skis on the end, for balance.

For Grant, learning how to ski as an amputee was a pivotal moment in his life, and it played a crucial role in his athletic career. "The confidence and independence it instilled in me pushed me to pursue anything I had an interest in, such as collegiate swimming and water polo, wrestling, rock climbing, downhill mountain biking and surfing to name a few," he says.

As a child with a disability, Grant often felt watched over and monitored closely, which limited his sense of freedom. However, skiing gave him a sense of ultimate freedom, and the ability to ski side-by-side with able-bodied kids his age brought a new level of confidence and leveled the playing field.

Achieve Tahoe has been providing life-changing experiences to people like Grant for years. While the nonprofit's specialty is skiing, it has expanded to include a range of summer activities as well.

In this blog, I interview Josephine Cormier, communications and program coordinator of Achieve Tahoe, to learn more about their impact, the positivity they bring to Tahoe and their plans for the future. 

Picture: Grant Beall enjoying the pleasure of powder.

How did Achieve Tahoe start? 

Achieve Tahoe was started in 1967 by Jim Winthers, a World War II Veteran of the 10th Mountain Division and Director of the Soda Springs Ski School. He brought together a group of Vietnam Veterans with disabilities and they taught themselves how to ski and found ways to adapt equipment to do so. At the time, adaptive sports equipment did not exist. The experience was so positive, Jim felt that the community could benefit from a formalized program that helped more people. We are proud to be the founding chapter of MoveUnited (formerly Disabled Sports USA) and have employees and volunteers who were pioneers in the adaptive sports world.

What is the main goal of Achieve Tahoe today?

Today, Achieve Tahoe provides year-round outdoor recreation activities for people with cognitive, sensory and physical disabilities. We can serve just about anyone with any disability. We focus on health, confidence and independence so that the experience people have with us is long-lasting and carries over into other areas of their life.

What types of life skills are taught to participants?

Participants are taught everything from the benefits of physical activity to the rewards of pushing yourself to try new things. Our mission is to build health, confidence and independence in children and adults with disabilities, so that they can then carry those skills into other areas of their lives.

How does Achieve Tahoe help participants surmount challenges and fears?

Achieve Tahoe focuses on micro-milestones; we meet each participant where they are and help them set achievable goals, so everyone leaves with a sense of accomplishment.

What positive aspects do participants gain most from participating in Achieve Tahoe events?

Achieve Tahoe focuses on building independence in our participants, and through our lessons and programs, we teach our participants that if they can do this, they can do anything.

Are there any particular stories that shine as examples for what Achieve Tahoe is doing for the community?

We have a whole host of stories on our blog, where we share a story of a featured Achieve Tahoe community member every month.

What are your most popular programs?

Our snowsports program is our most popular program, followed by our Sierra Summer Sports day camp and waterski programs in summer. However, all of our programs are growing in popularity, especially our new climbing, sailing, hiking, archery and equestrian programs.

Does Achieve Tahoe have programs for all ages?

We offer programs for people aged 4 and older.

How can people get involved?

We are currently recruiting volunteers for our summer programs. For most of our programs, no experience is necessary – we teach volunteers everything they need to know during our pre-program training sessions. We are also a 501c3 non-profit, and we always can use help expanding and sustaining our programs in the form of donations, both in-kind and fiscal.

Are there any upcoming events that you would like readers to know about?

Our Annual Gala takes place on Saturday April, 8, and tickets are available on our website. All proceeds from our events go to our affordable and inclusive adaptive recreation programs. We also host our Ability Challenge Fundraiser in March, which culminates with an on-hill celebration at Alpine Meadows. You can get involved by either making a fundraising page or donating to one of our many Challengers. And our Foam Fest continues to be one of the favorite annual festivals in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe area, bringing people together for a great afternoon of live music and beer tasting from breweries all over the region.

Photos courtesy of Achieve Tahoe