Warriors Hit the Water in ASFs Next WIM Event

WINDHAM – The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) will be conducting its Warriors in Motion® (WIM) kayaking event next week from July 23-25. 

Eleven U.S. servicemen and women will be visiting Windham for the three-day event, making it one of the most attended WIM events of the summer season. One of the veterans, U.S. Army veteran Ronald Beverly, is excited about what’s in store for him and the rest of their peers. “I really enjoy being with other veterans, hearing their stories and talking with one another, so I’m looking forward to the camaraderie the most,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to the event and kayaking of course, but the camaraderie is the glue.”

The warriors will meet at the ASF’s Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center at noon on Tuesday, where they will have a chance to meet the ASF staff, volunteers and their fellow participants. They will enjoy a lunch before departing for their first kayaking adventure, an afternoon of paddling North-South Lake in nearby Haines Falls. North-South Lake is a popular summer camping destination that is essentially two large lakes that are connected by a narrower passage in the middle, giving the warriors ample time to explore. Once their time in the water is complete, the participants will enjoy a barbecue dinner on shore before the ASF shuttle bus takes them back to their hotel for the evening. 

On Wednesday the warriors will be picked up and ride down to the Village of Catskill, where they will paddle along the Catskill Creek and on the Hudson River, if conditions are agreeable. The WIM group will launch at Dutchman’s Landing and hit the water. Then they will break for lunch before heading out again for an all-day affair. The group will once again fire up the grill and barbecue on location for dinner before returning up the mountain to rest after the full day of activity. 

Thursday’s final kayak session will take place at Colgate Lake in Jewett. The area features hiking trails around the lake, so it will be a full morning of paddling and hiking before returning to the ASF lodge for a lunch and departures. 

“I can’t give enough adjectives to explain how programs like the ASF’s Warriors in Motion have helped me,” Beverly explained. “I literally didn’t want to exercise again because I was in excruciating pain, but these programs have shown me how to exercise and the instructors take their time in teaching me and are passionate about what they’re doing. It has been tremendous for me. I’m just so thankful and I always speak highly about these programs.”

Thanks to grants received and private donations, the ASF is able to provide equipment, water bottles, all meals, hotel rooms, snacks, water, sports drinks, sunscreen, bug spray, ponchos (if necessary) and maps, both digital and paper copies.