Spirit of Adaptability: a Story about Progression

Snowboarding is a progressive sport.Adaptive Snowboarding is probably the most progressive expression of it I’ve ever seen. Just think your body been amputated in an incident or for a disease, and after that find the energy and the motivation to start everything from the beginnin including, of course but not least, snowboarding.

Adaptive riders are people with something to teach and to say, even if sometime they don’t realize how powerfull is the example they can offer us. Can you image a 360 or a 10m straight jump with a prothesis instead of 2 well trained legs? Me yes, but only because i saw it personally. It happened last summer in Tignes. We were guests of Nazca Snowboard Camp and Silvia Bresciani spent a week end to develop freestyle teaching technique with a crew of adaptive riders. After the first day of flat trick we move to the snowpark to hit some kickers.

When Greg landed his firts 360 there was a blast, but when Patrice approch the large kicker for a 10m jump everybody around stopped breathing and focus on that unexpected show: probably the most emotional trick I ever saw. Patrice hitted it 3 times before his 10.000€ prothesis got a 3.000€ damage… lucky he is a tester and he can have prothesis for free.

That day something changed in the people watching the show and a powerfull thought appeared in our mind: I can do anything I want. That’s a true expression of progression, don’t you think?

Snowboarding is not yet a Paralympic Sport but there are people out there working on it, and many athletes dreaming about it. To know more and offer your help to the adaptive movement check www.worldsnowboardfederation.org.

Even if seen an adaptive rider snowboarding is enough to get inspired, we interviewed the ones in Tignes because they have tons of interesting things to share with the snowboard community.

VALERIO ITW
Name: Valerio Corvino
Age: 33
Disability: amputated sx over the knee

Did the Nazca Camp bring some progression to your riding?
Of course yes! Silvia Bresciani suggested me a new stance that gave me immediatly more stability and balance. Also now i can use both my leg and i can ride more becase my real one work better.

Last year you compeete in the italian adaptive snowboard championship … tell us something about it!
After start riding again, it was great to compete and it give me so much adrenalin and motivation! At that time i couldn’t use the snowboard so well but after this summer camp my technique improve a lot and next championship i will go much more faster!

Few years ago nobody think amputeed people ride a snowboard but you are showing it is possible. Do you have some message for any other amputed rider out there?
Everything is possible. If you want something you can do it. Today prothesis’ technology open new chance to our future after you wake up without a leg. Yestarday I didn’t know what a prothesis is and i didnt’ think it could be possible to come back snowboarding. Today i take a gondola to 3000m and i see my life from the sky … everything is possible, don’t leave yourself and trust in snowboarding.

GREGORY ITW
Name: Gregory Leperdi
Age: 36
Disability: left above knee amputee
Stance: 56 cm 21° -3° Regular (Pro Carve Prosthesis from Chabloz Ortophedie on my left leg) on a Kaane Snowboard (kaaneboards@yahoo.it)

Greg

How did the adaptive snowboard camp in Tignes born?
There are already several “adaptive riders” in US and Canada. We would like to spread this sport around Europe too. Therefore we first need to be recognized by our federations (National Snowboard and Paralimpic ones) in order to form specific “adaptive” snowboard coaches. Silvia Bresciani, former snowboard champion and current coach, was really interested about creating these specific courses, but had more or less no direct experience. Therefore she invited us to see with her own eyes what we were able to do.

Did the Nazca Camp bring some progression to your riding?
Silvia gave me great advice on how to do improve my style and perform some nice tricks. On the other hand she learnt more about how our prosthesis works.

What’s your favorite trick?
I do like rotations. I was able to land some nice 360° after only a couple of tries.
I have been snowboarding from the late 80s, but after my accident in 98, I wasn’t able to do it with my normal prosthesis.
In 2008 I tried this new prosthesis and I felt like these last 10 years have never passed. Of course you need to understand how it works, but it’s amazing how you can get “that” feeling again.
My orthopedic technician, Pierre Chabloz from Grenoble (France), is working on a stronger version of this prosthesis for the riders like me who like to “jump around” 🙂

Prothesy: some technical details

What are the Sitting Bulls?
I’m a Sitting Bull too… That’s my Ice Sledge Hockey club team. I enjoy playing hockey and I’ve participated to 2 European, 2 World Championships, 1 Paralimpics and now we are already qualified for Vancouver 2010. That’s a pity that Snowboard is not yet a paralimpic discipline.

When we will see you competing at the paralympics with a snowboard?
I do really hope that Adaptive snowboard will become a demonstrative paralimpic discipline in Sochi 2014. That could be a great opportunity to participate to another paralimpic game in a different discipline.

Last year you compeete in the italian adaptive snowboard championship … tell us something about it!
That was the first official european Adaptive Snowboard race (giant slalom). That was an honour to be part of it. I personally got a Bronze medal, therefore I was pretty satisfied with it, but the aim of that competition was to promote this sport and let the media knows amputee can snowboard too!

Few years ago nobody think amputeed people ride a snowboard but you are showing it is possible. Do you have some message for any other amputed rider out there?
If you were a snowboarder and you had an accident, you will definitively find again the pleasure of riding. If you weren’t, just give it a try. You won’t be disappointed! Trust me.
Word of the Sitting Bull who loves to ride standing

Text by Marco Sampaoli
Pictures by Eleonora Raggi (RaggiEleonora.com)

In summer 2010 the Adaptive Nazca International Camp will happen again in Tignes, France, from 10 to 17 july. All info here