Blind and Visually Impaired Skiers Attend 13th Annual Winter Ski Festival at Pico Mountain

U.S. Association of Blind Athletes and Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports host largest gathering in the nation KILLINGTON, Vt. (Feb. 7, 2020) – The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) is pleased to partner with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports to host the 13th annual Winter Ski Festival at Pico Mountain, Feb. 8-9. For more than a decade, USABA and Vermont Adaptive have worked together to coordinate an event where Americans who are blind and visually impaired can participate in alpine skiing, snowboarding and Nordic skiing. The event continues to be the largest annual gathering in the United States…  Read More

USA Women’s Goalball Celebrates National Girls & Women in Sports Day

February 5th is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day set aside to celebrate and encourage the involvement of females in sports, so more women can emerge as leaders in sports and life. Sports are much more than just a game or just a competition. Sports are an opportunity to learn more about yourself and develop skills that will benefit you in and out of competition. In celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, we asked members of our women’s goalball team to share their experiences in sports and how they use their love for sports…  Read More

Blind Surfer Rides the Waves of Life

by Sierra Romero Surfing commands precision, endurance, patience, and so much more. Every second and every movement counts. According to a 2018 study by Ponting and O’Brien, there are around 35 million surfers in at least 162 countries worldwide. As the number continues to increase every day, there is also a growing demographic of surfers who take on an additional challenge beyond commanding the waves. Joshua Loya, 39, is a blind national championship surfer from Santa Cruz, Calif. In his sophomore year of high school, Loya went blind as the result of an accident, but he didn’t let it stop…  Read More

“The community I became a part of was one I want to be a part of for life” -Tina Muir, on her USABA experience

Tina Muir is an elite, world-class runner who has posted a personal-best time of 2:36 at the 2016 California International Marathon and competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the World Half Marathon Championships. Below, Tina shares her life-changing experience as a USABA guide runner at the 2019 USABA Marathon National Championships, held in conjunction with the California International Marathon in Sacramento. For the first 14 years of my life as a runner, it was all about winning. About being my best and taking all the necessary steps (and beyond) to get to the top. My training controlled everything…  Read More

USABA Welcomes Cat Bouwkamp as Membership and SafeSport Coordinator

USABA is pleased to announce the hiring of Cat Bouwkamp as the organization's membership and SafeSport coordinator. Bouwkamp comes to USABA from Fishers, Indiana, and is a 2012 Paralympian in wheelchair fencing. She is a recent graduate of Indiana University with degrees in recreational therapy and nonprofit management, and was the co-founder of the first adaptive sports program at IU. Bouwkamp has a passion for the Paralympic movement and for people, and she is looking forward to working with USABA members. “In our strategy to build long-term capacity for USABA, I am ecstatic to add additional staff to our growing…  Read More