Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA) partnered with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) to sponsor team Missing Parts in Action in the 2010 Ski to Sea Race that was held May 30. This year, Missing Parts in Action was the only team, out of 464 teams, with disabled athletes participating in the race.
“Disabled Sports USA is pleased and honored to partner with Challenged Athletes Foundation to provide venues where our severely injured service members can achieve the highest level of athleticism,” Kirk Bauer, JD, executive director of DS/USA and a disabled Vietnam veteran, announced prior to the event. “This partnership will open up new opportunities for our severely injured service members to rebuild their lives through extreme sports.”
Injured service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan participated in the annual Ski to Sea Race, a 90-mile long, seven-sport relay race that stretches from Mount Baker to Bellingham Bay, Washington. According to the Ski to Sea website, “this event can be traced back to the Mt. Baker Marathon held from 1911 to 1913” that “pitted man and machine against rugged terrain, taking contestants over treacherous roads and trails to the top of the mountain and back.”
The Missing Parts in Action team participated as part of the DS/USA’s Wounded Warrior “Challenge Sports Series” of extreme athletic events to test and reestablish the skills of the severely injured service members. According to a DS/USA press release, the competitors consisted of the following eight disabled and non-disabled athletes:
- Snowboard: National Guard SSG Mike Kacer, transhumeral amputation.
- Cross country ski: LTC Kerrie Golden, Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) staff.
- Canoe: Army 1st Lt. Joe Guyton, transtibial amputation and Zach Harvey, CPO, WRAMC.
- Running: Kara Guyton (wife of Joe Guyton).
- Handcycle: Special Ops. SSG Freddie Delasantos, transfemoral amputation.
- Mountain bike: Army SSG Kenny Butler, transhumeral amputation.
- Kayak: Air Force SSGT (Ret.) Randy Builder, visually impaired, alongside his guide Randy Resse.
“Challenged Athletes Foundation is committed to making a difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities who desire to live active, competitive lifestyles by giving them every opportunity to compete in the sports they love,” Nico Marcolongo, CAF Operation Rebound program manager, was quoted as saying. “We see our partnership with Disabled Sports USA in the ‘Challenge Sports Series’ as enabling our wounded warriors to live out their love of sport and competition.”
