Spotlight on: Paradox Sports

By Guest Blogger Alyssa White, Program Intern, Paradox Sports

Paradox Sports is a small, non-profit adaptive organization based in Eldorado Springs, Colo., and is a nationally recognized leader in providing programs and education for rock climbing and ice climbing for people with disabilities.

The Paradox mission is clear: to revolutionize lives through adaptive climbing opportunities that defy convention! Paradox Sports seeks to recognize and foster an individual’s potential and strength, defying the assumption that people with a physical disability can’t lead a life of excellence and adventure. Paradox Sports connects community, encourages individuals push their limits and changes beliefs about what’s possible with a disability. Over the years, Paradox Sports has changed and grown, but at the core, the unwavering dedication to living fully and in the moment remains. Paradox runs adaptive climbing trips and trainings across the country for people with physical disabilities in order to make human-powered sports accessible to everyone. Paradox strives to not just lead trips and trainings, but to educate, empower and inspire!

Paradox Sports was incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in July 2007. We began on Feb. 2, 2007 at Sport Rock, a local rock climbing gym outside Washington, D.C., which hosted a group of driven people on their first meeting. DJ Skelton, a severely-injured Iraq war Veteran and accomplished professional rock climbers Timmy O’Neill, Reid Olmstead, Ocean Eiler, Jason Chang and Nelson Yang conducted one of the first adaptive rock climbing clinics in the United States. Additional attendees of this pilot meeting included more than 20 participants from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with a variety of disabilities including individuals who are blind, amputees, burned, scarred, paraplegic and have muscular atrophy.

A combination of expert climbers, medical professionals, local volunteers and most importantly, a group of highly-motivated group of people with disabilities, showed up for one purpose: to define life on their own terms and help each other accomplish a goal regardless of real or perceived limitations of the body and mind. This was the day the idea to build physical adaptive sport communities to facilitate and inspire post-traumatic growth was born.

Eight years later in 2015, we kicked it up a notch to spread the word about the vertical lifestyle. We published the first-ever adaptive climbing manual and ran 16 adaptive climbing trainings across North America to make gyms and other programs more accessible. We ran 11 of our infamous annual adaptive climbing trips across nine states and an adaptive climbing club that meets three times a month at gyms in Boulder and Golden Colorado. Our impact in the adaptive community reached over 450 people across 16 states and provinces in 2015 and we are continuing to push our limit in 2016.

So far in 2016 alone, Paradox Sports has led five adaptive climbing trips in the Ouray Ice Park, the iconic New Hampshire North Conway and New York State Gunks climbing areas, Eldorado Canyon and Yosemite State Park. Three of these trips were influenced by major industry conferences such as the Ouray Icefest, the Climbing Wall Association and the No Barriers Summit. This year’s Yosemite trip was the fourth-annual Yosemite Veterans Commemorative trip, free to veterans to thank them for their service. Paradox is hosting one more trip in 2016 at the Shelf Road climbing area November 4 through 6. Inspiring information about all of our past and upcoming trips can be found atParadoxsports.org/trips. All of our trips are open to all ability levels, veterans and civilians alike, and we love meeting new people and welcoming returning participants! In addition to the trips in 2016, we have also facilitated more than 10 adaptive climbing trainings at gyms, universities and other programs across the country in the hopes of making climbing available for all abilities.

For additional information on our organization visitParadoxSports.org.

About the Guest Blogger

Growing up spending all of her free time at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint Idaho, Alyssa followed the ski resort lifestyle to Colorado in 2008. Working in Lift Operations at Keystone ski resort and Copper Mountain Alyssa found her passion to be involved in adaptive recreation while volunteering as a ski instructor for Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center from 2009 to 2012.

Beginning her education path towards a career in adaptive recreation at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge Colorado, she is a current student at Colorado State University (CSU) finishing up a B.S. in Natural Resource and Recreation Tourism with a minor in Business administration. She joined our Paradox Sports team as the Program Coordinator intern in the Spring of 2016 to complete her 400-hour internship requirement through CSU. Working closely with Program Director Adam Fisher, Alyssa is getting first hand exposure to in the workings of a non-profit organization. Upon graduation from Colorado State University, Alyssa will pursue a career in adaptive recreation for a 501c.

During her free time Alyssa can be found in the mountains: biking, skiing, backpacking, searching for backcountry ice first assents, learning to lead rock or taking a nap in her hammock.

You can reach her by email at Alyssa@paradoxsports.org.