| CAMPAIGN SUMMARY | ||
| My name is Nichole Rider and I am a disabled sailor who lives in beautiful landlocked Wyoming! I am fairly new to the sport of sailing as I just started in April of 2010. I had never sailed before I went to Miami, FL for vacation in April 2010. While in Miami, I had the great pleasure of meeting Kerry Gruson and Juan Carlos Gil (also disabled sailors) and their friend John Muir who were all associated with Shake-A-Leg Miami. Shake-A-Leg Miami is a community boating center with a focus on serving people with disabilities. I went sailing on the Sonar owned by Kerry and I was hooked from the first time I took the helm, thus finding my passion in life! Over the course of the summer of 2010, I exploded into the sailing world, racing in six regattas. I raced in all but one regatta in a 17 foot ODay Day Sailer and the other regatta I raced in an E Scow. The other boats I have sailed include a Sonar, a Freedom 20, Wavelength 24, Atlantic 30, J/22, J/24, J/30, Catalina 25, an Ideal 18, a SKUD 18, a Hobie 16, Hobie 20, Martin 16, Challenger (trimaran), a Hobie Islander and an Access 303 Wide Dinghy. With thanks to all of my new sailing friends, this has been quite an accomplishment for me as a partial quadriplegic! With my new found passion and my eagerness to share my energy and enthusiasm, I have become very active in my local sailing community. Getting others out on the water, whether new or experienced, able or disabled sailors, in a boat every chance I get. I started the Windy Wyoming Sailing Club in Laramie, WY with a couple of sailing friends. We are more of a virtual club with membership of 64 thus far! I was named Sailor of the Week by US SAILING the first week of December 2010 and I was the ARGO Challenge Ambassador of the Week in February 2011. In addition, in December 2010 I had the opportunity to be in the Winterfest Boat Parade in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on the float The 12 Dinghies of Christmas with Anna Tunnecliffe, the 2008 Gold Medalist in the Laser Radial. I also helped to spearhead the effort to bring the first ever Road to Rolex Womens Sailing Clinic to Denver, CO that was open to able and disabled women sailors of all ability levels and was held June 10-12, 2011. The summer of 2011 has been amazing racing in six regattas!! But I must say the greatest joy has been giving back to the sport by putting on sailing and kayaking clinics. I helped with an adaptive boating clinic in Ft Collins, CO on June 24, 2011 providing the sailing aspect of the clinic. The end of June, my team and I provided the sailing at the 2011 No Barriers Festival in Winter Park, CO. This was an international event with around 700 adaptive athletes. In August, I organized a day of sailing and kayaking at a local reservoir here in Laramie, WY getting the youth program from the Warren Air Force Base involved. We had a second clinic in September due to the tremendous turnout from the event in August. We had 30 people at both events!! My long term sailing goal is to train and learn as much as I can in hopes of making the 2016 Paralympic Team and compete in Brazil! Individuals or organizations wishing to support my sailing endeavors may donate to Active Disabled Americans (which is a 501 C3 non profit organization so donations are tax deductible). Donations may be made payable to Active Disabled Americans, 225 Upper Matecumbe Rd, Key Lartgo, FL 33037 in the name of Team Wind Rider. Thank you!! |
||
|
||
Posted By: Nichole ••••••DATE: January 22, 2012 |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
