National Sports Center for the Disabled


The National Sports Center for the Disabled is a 501 non-profit organization that began in 1970 providing ski lessons for children with amputations. Today, the NSCD is one of the largest therapeutic recreation organizations in the world, serving more than 3,000 children and adults with disabilities. The NSCD is based out of Winter Park Resort in Winter Park, Colorado and Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.

History

The NSCD was founded in 1970 by Hal O'Leary, who was then a salaried ski instructor at Winter Park Resort. O'Leary taught one lesson to 23 children with amputations, which spearheaded the National Sports Center for the Disabled. For the first three years of the program, O'Leary operated out of a broom closet at Winter Park Resort. Since then, he has been named one of the "best 100 things to happen to skiing" by Ski Magazine. has established programs for disabled athletes on four continents and coached two Paralympic teams. O'Leary was also awarded the prestigious honor of Order of Canada, Canada's highest honor of merit given to individuals recognized for lifetime achievement. Today, the NSCD facilitates a variety of both winter and summer programs, including alpine skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, rock climbing, kayaking, Sports Ability Clinics and therapeutic horseback riding. The NSCD offers recreational opportunities as well as competitive ski race training through a renowned Competition Center. The NSCD is proud to be recognized as a Paralympic Sport Club through the U.S. Paralympic Sport Club Network.

Mission

The National Sports Center for the Disabled enables the human spirit through therapeutic sports and recreation.

Competition Center

The Competition Center is a program designed for beginner through elite-level racers. Edging, balance drills, speed progression and gate training are all emphasized for Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing and Snowboarding competitions. The Competition Center is a smaller faction of the NSCD but provides substantial name recognition and reputation growth due to the caliber of athletes that train there. in the 2010 Winter Paralympics, the NSCD athletes accounted for more than half of the total alpine medals collected by Team USA.

Steven J. Ricci Award

Steven J. Ricci was an NSCD athlete who died after suffering critical head injuries during a training run at Winter Park Resort. This award was created to award athletes who exemplify team leadership and sportsmanship.
YearRecipient
2000Sandy Dukat
2001Bruce Warner
2002Ronny Persson
2003Ian Jansing
2004Brad Washburn
2005Danny Pufpaff
2006Allison Jones
2007Adam Hall
2008Stephen Peters
2009James Church
2010Luba Lowery
2011Danelle Umstead
2012Jill Wilkinson
2013Sarah Holm

2012/13 Competition Program Accomplishments (Alpine)

Copper DSUSA NOR AM Dec 2012 2SG 2GS 2SL
Winter Park NOR AM Jan 2013 1 SG 1GS 1SL
Kimberley, Can NOR AM Jan 2013 2DH 2SG
US Nationals
World Cup Highlights
World Championship Highlights
World Cup Highlights
Copper NOR AM
Sochi Test Event
World Cup Highlights
US Nationals
The Leadership Team of the NSCD is composed of six members of the organization: President/CEO, Marketing Director, Operations Director, Human Resources Director, Competition Center Director and Financial Director. There are 27 community members that sit on the Board of Trustees.