US Paralympics Awards Scholarships to Attend Ski Spectacular

US Paralympics, a division of the US Olympic Committee (USOC), announced November 15 that five female athletes with physical disabilities are the recipients of Paralympic alpine skiing scholarships to attend the 19th Annual Hartford Ski Spectacular December 3-10 in Breckenridge, Colorado.

The scholarships were awarded to Rebecca Camp-Allen, Richmond, Vermont; Danelle D'Aquanni, Park City, Utah; Meghan Erickson, Somerset, Wisconsin; Madeline Hamilton, North Waterboro, Maine; and Sarah Marks, Moraga, California.

The five scholarship recipients will participate in skiing clinics instructed by the US Disabled Alpine Skiing National Team Coaches and Paralympic team members. After several days of clinics, participants will compete in the slalom and giant slalom events, alongside members of the 2006 US Paralympic Alpine Skiing National Team.

"We're excited about the caliber of applicants and their enthusiasm, and we're hoping this will become a feeder program onto the National Team," said Stacey Wooley, associate director, Winter Sports, US Paralympics. "All of the [scholarship recipients] are really excited about the event. They all seem to know they're in for a full week of hard work, but I think they're all up to the challenge."

Said Danelle D'Aquanni, 34, "My heart went to my toes when I learned I had been chosen," said D'Aquanni. "My work up to now has been a struggle, and I had no idea that opportunities like this were available. I am determined to get a 2010 gold medal, and I'm ready to commit everything to achieving my goal."

"It [skiing] is one of the only sports I can do with my able-bodied friends," said Meghan Erickson, age ten. "I love going down the hills and skiing, just having as much fun as I can. I was so excited to get the scholarship because someday I wish to qualify for the Paralympic Games."

"I am really excited," said Sarah Marks, 17. "It is my next step toward being an effective competitor in the sport, which is where I want to go."

Applicants were chosen based on their previous participation in local skiing programs and recommendations from their coaches, said US Paralympics Manager of Communications Beth Bourgeois.

The 19th Annual Hartford Ski Spectacular is an ASD points-qualifying event, meaning how competitors fare at the competition factors into their overall national ranking.

The scholarship program was created after Lindsey Kildow, 21, two-time Olympian and winner of the 2006 US Olympic Spirit Award delivered by DHL, donated her $5,000 award money to US Paralympics. Excited by her gesture, US Paralympics decided to match her donation in an effort to reach out to as many prospective female Paralympic skiers as possible, Bourgeois said.

For more information, contact Beth Bourgeois, 719.866.2039 or via e-mail: beth.bourgeois@usoc.org

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