ASF and Wounded Warrior Project Team Up For This Years Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend

– The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) will be hosting its 21st annual Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion (WIM) Winter Sports Weekend next Thursday, January 30-Sunday, February 2. 

This year, the ASF is teaming up with the Wounded Warrior Project, who will be bringing nine U.S. military veterans and their guests to Windham to learn how to ski and snowboard. The WWP will be covering travel fare, while the ASF, thanks to generous grants and donations, will be providing lodging and food, making the weekend free for all participants. One participant, retired U.S. Army Sergeant Lashawn McKoy,  is looking forward to experiencing snow sports for the first-time ever.

“I’m coming up from North Carolina, so for one I’m looking forward to seeing the amount of snow,” McKoy said with a laugh. “My cousin is stationed at Fort Drum in New York, and he keeps sharing videos in the family group chat about how much snow they’re getting. He skis, and he keeps telling me how much fun I’ll have experiencing skiing for the first time. I’m looking forward to trying it, it’s something new and it will be something I’ll be able to tell my friends, ‘yeah, I went skiing.’”

One of the many things that makes the Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend special is the opportunity for these military veterans to bring a family member or friend with them to support them and also learn how to ski or snowboard. McKoy will be bringing his younger sister, Melody, with him so they can bond on the slopes and make lasting memories together.

“It’s special for me to bring Melody along. We have a seven-year age gap between us, and she’s more closely aligned with my younger cousins,” McKoy explained. “I remember when I turned 18 and joined the military, she was only 11 or 12-years old. We don’t have as tight of a relationship that a brother and sister should, so I reached out to her, and she was really excited about experiencing this with me and making some memories, and I feel the same way.”  

The veterans and their guests will arrive at the ASF’s Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center on Thursday evening, where they will be fitted for their gear and any adaptive equipment they will need over the weekend. Once everyone is ready for a weekend on the slopes, the participants will enjoy a dinner that will be catered by Zecatela’s 2, located on Main Street in Windham.

The participants will have three days of lessons on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Prior to their lessons they will participate in morning mobility sessions that will allow them to stretch out and loosen up before snapping into skis or strapping into a snowboard. Once at the ASF lodge, the ASF Kitchen Crew, a group of ASF volunteers, will provide breakfast for the warriors each day. Once 9 a.m. rolls around and the participants are stretched out and fed, they will meet with their instructors and begin their lesson by 9:30 a.m.

On Friday, the ASF and Windham Mountain Club will be holding a special honorary luncheon for the veterans in attendance at Windham Mountain Club’s Seasons restaurant in the resort’s main lodge. The ASF has invited special guests to attend, including Windham Town Supervisor Thomas Hoyt, Wounded Warrior Project’s Adaptive Sports Specialist Randa Osman and ASF board member and daughter of Bob Stubbs Charity Guzofski to say a few words. Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School’s 2nd grade and Elementary Chorus will also be in attendance to sing patriotic songs during the event. Once the luncheon ends, the veterans, their guests and the ASF volunteers and staff will then take a group picture before afternoon lessons begin. Afternoon lessons run from 1-3 p.m. before the veterans return to their hotels for a post-ski mobility session and a little rest before they get ready for dinner at the ASF Lodge, courtesy of the ASF Kitchen Crew.

The warriors and their guests will once again have a full day of lessons on Saturday, with the morning sessions beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the afternoon lessons beginning after lunch, provided by the ASF Kitchen Crew, at 1:30 p.m. The veterans and their guests will have dinner at the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center again later that night, and their instructors and some special guests from the community will be invited to break bread with them as well. Local quilters from Windham’s The Patchwork Co. create special quilts for the veterans each year, and they will be in attendance to hand out their creations during dinner on Saturday. Saturday’s supper will also be made by the ASF Kitchen Crew. 

On Sunday, the final day of this special weekend in Windham, the WIM participants will arrive at the ASF lodge and enjoy breakfast and a morning lesson before departing after lunch. 

“Programs like the Adaptive Sports Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project are very important for veterans who have been injured in combat. When I got out of the army in 2005, I feel like these types of activities and programs weren’t as popular as they are now,” McKoy said. “Having an outlet and being able to do these activities makes it feel like we’re still normal. It’s great for the mental psyche and overall quality of life.”

About the ASF’s Warriors in Motion Program

The Warriors in Motion (WIM) program provides participating injured United States servicemen and women with a basic knowledge and practice of wellness and the importance of lifelong healthy living. All Warriors in Motion programs are goal-oriented and empower the warrior to take charge of their own fitness and wellness. One of the many things that makes this weekend special is that the warriors who will be joining the ASF are able to bring their families along with them to take skiing and snowboarding lessons as well.

Beginning in 2021, the ASF renamed its Warriors in Motion Learn to Ski and Ride event to the Bob Stubbs Warriors in Motion Winter Sports Weekend to honor the memory of Bob Stubbs, a former Chairman of the ASF Board of Trustees, who passed away in 2020. Stubbs, a U.S. Army veteran himself, was one of the first ASF donors to ensure that wounded veterans had everything they needed for a weekend of fun and empowerment on the slopes. He and his wife Rosie would attend many of the WIM events the ASF held, and often the couple would build friendships with the participants.

About the Adaptive Sports Foundation

For over 40 years the ASF has been providing sports and recreation opportunities to thousands in the disabled community. Since then, it has grown into what it is today, an organization that provides year-round services out of its own slope-side lodge, the Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center. All this has been accomplished over the years thanks to many donors and an impressive legion of volunteers, who can be seen in their iconic green jackets sliding down the snow-white slopes.

The Adaptive Sports Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides profound and life changing experiences for children and adults with physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses through outdoor physical activity, education, support and community. For more information about the Adaptive Sports Foundation please visit www.adaptivesportsfoundation.org.