World wakesurf champion Drew Danielo, BoardCo.com, and Texas Ski Ranch (TSR) teamed up on Saturday, April 18, to host Central Texas’ first adaptive surf clinic. Adaptive athletes, ages 5 to 45, visited TSR, located in New Braunfels, for a day on the lake and a chance to learn to ride.
David Patterson, an orthotics and prosthetics student from Baylor College of Medicine, organized the clinic. In June 2014, Patterson received a question from a young, active patient about his desire to try wakesurfing as a new amputee. This question really hit home for Patterson, who had tried to pursue a career in wakeboarding and had worked in the watersports industry for several years before returning to school. Without hesitation, he called his friend, Danielo, to begin formulating a plan.
Patterson then approached the owners of BoardCo and TSR with the idea of doing an adaptive wakesurf clinic, and both companies were immediately on board. Adaptive sports are nothing new to TSR, which has been host to the Athletes with Disabilities Network’s Extremity Games for six years. TSR has also partnered with Lyn Litchke, PhD, and her students in the Therapeutic Recreation Department at Texas State University to host multiple adaptive events, including an adaptive skateboarding clinic.
With the additional support of Ottobock, the Amputee Coalition, Advanced Orthopedic Designs, and Malibu & Axis Boats, TSR, with the assistance of BoardCo, hosted the free clinic for about a dozen amputees of all skill levels.
To view a video of the event, visit https://vimeo.com/127364061.
This article was adapted from an original article by Catie Bialick.
