Utica Daily News - Local and national news for Utica, The Mohawk Valley and Central New York.: Local non-profits work together to promote, fund adaptive curling Local non-profits work together to promote, fund adaptive curling ================================================================================ Dana C. Silano / Utica Daily News on 01/18/2010 01:30:00 pm Curling, a big sport in Europe, has become an adaptive sport that the legally blind, the physically disabled and those with Cerebral Palsey can participate in, and their respective local organizations want everyone to know that. Sitrin, The Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and United Cerebral Palsey are working together to raise funds to enable all their patients interested to join. "The strength within our community in these organizationations is wonderful," said Mark DePerno, director for adaptive sports at Sitrin. "We have wonderful resources throughout the community -- wheelchair basketball, the wheelchair race in the Boilermaker, skiing, golf and kayaking for examples -- and we provide funding, education and knowledge." DePerno said curling has become a competitive sport for the Sitrin STARS (Success Through Adaptive Recreation and Sports), but it's also a fun and dynamic rehabilitation tool. "First and foremost," DePerno said, "it's about collaboration -- friendships, getting out and about; adaptive sports provide an avenue for you to improve your quality of life and self esteem, and make friendships. It's a chance to excel in an area of life you didnt realize you could, and when a person comes to try it, they usually get hooked." Physically, adaptive curling is excellent, too, DePerno said. "The great thing is, it does not require as much physical mobility as other adaptive sports," DePerno pointed out. "Curling basically opens the door to a whole other area of disabilities. You only have to have the ability to push a stone 20 feet down the ice. This allows people to get involved in a sport who didn't know they could." Kathy Hartnett, coordinator II of community development at UCP, said clients at her organization started getting involved with curling this past fall. She enjoyed the partnership of all three organizations as well as that of the Utica Curling Club, who work with everyone in adaptive curling. "It's a unique partnership where three non-profits come together," Hartnett said. "We've had some of our individuals going to the curling club learning the game for recreation and therapy sessions. With conversation between our three groups, plus the World Curling Federation now allowing in the paralympics individuals with blindness and CP, it kind of sealed the deal for us." Rudy D'Amico, President and CEO of CABVI, said, "We are proud and fortunate to be associated with such groundbreaking organizations like Sitrin and UCP. Our mission to assist people with disabilities is very important to each agency." When approached by Sitrin officials about the opportunity, CABVI saw adaptive curling as a natural entry into recreational therapy, D'Amico added. "This effort gives us an opportunity to involve people who are blind not only in recreational curling but also a chance to compete at the national and, perhaps, international levels," he said. He also said the organization has always been interested in recreational therapy in addition to the employment and vision rehabilitation therapy services it provides to people who are legally blind. "The partnership between CABVI, Upstate Cerebral Palsy and Sitrin centers on the belief that people with disabilities can participate in recreational sports and at a competitive level," D'Amico said. "The process creates a more fulfilling breadth of services to our consumers." Ultimately, Hartnett added, there is a goal for many of UCP's clients as well as the other organizations involved, to become Olympians. "Initially it's to get them on the ice and allow them to learn the skills to be able to participate in and play the game," she said. "Ultimately they can personally set the goal of being part of an Olympic team." Hartnett said collaborating with CABVI and Sitrin is a great opportunity for individuals to be the athletes they can be. "There's nothing holding them back," she said. "It's an attainable goal. We're doing whatever we can to hep them get there." And all organizations mentioned fondly the help and support of the Utica Curling Club. "Members of the club provide their knowledge base to ensure success," DePerno said. DePerno is also the national director for outreach and development for the United States Wheelchair Curling Program, he said. So he has access to the sport and its benefits locally, regionally and nationally. "Our goal is to get people with disabilities to proceed and progress in a sport like their local curling club," he said. "It's to get these individuals with different levels of disabilities to try the sport and show them this is a chance for them to enjoy life." The adaptive curling team at Sitrin has made its way up from the ground, said Sitrin spokeswoman Rosemary Benzo Bonacci. All members of the United States Wheelchair Curling National Team are also members of the Sitrin STARS, she said. "In Europe, curling is like baseball is in the United States," she said, "so to see our team winning medals in Europe is a big deal." Recently, Team USA participated in competitions in both Norway and Scotland. In 2008 they were in the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Switzerland, where they won the bronze medal. Additionally, they have been involved with the National Wheelchair Curling Championships in Canada and in March they will go back to Vancouver to be in the 2010 Paralympic Games. "We want them to know they are and be acknowledged as professional athletes, because often they aren't seen that way because of their disabilities," Bonacci said. "They are athletes beyond volumes." There's no question Bonacci and DePerno are proud, they both said. "To be involved at the ground level and see them come to where they are now, I feel a great sense of accomplishment especially for these individuals as athletes," DePerno said. "They've exceeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. To be an amateaur and then to be a paralypian is amazing, and it's been a great trip along the way." This Thursday, January 21, UCP, CABVI and Sitrin are hosting an event to raise money for adaptive curling called Rock the House, a play on words for anyone who knows the lingo of curling. A rock is the term for the stone used in the game and the house is what the circles are referred to where the game is judged. "It's all about awareness and involvement," DePerno said.