World T.E.A.M. Sports 2014 Annual Review | Page 13

Adventure Team Challenge

THE 2014 ADVENTURE TEAM CHALLENGES INCLUDED MOUNTAIN BIKING, RIVER
RAFTING, RAPPELLING, ZIP LINING, ROCK CLIMBING AND ORIENTEERING. THEY WERE
HELD IN COLORADO, WASHINGTON, D.C. AND NEW YORK.

Lo c ation : Rancho del Rio, Colorado

2 0 1 4 c h ampions : Berserkers

Parti c ipants : 50

For many athletes in Colorado’s annual Adventure Team Challenge, the three-day, threestage event is among the most difficult adventures they will ever attempt. Held in Colorado’s
rugged Gore Mountains near Eagle, the 2014 Challenge included teams of five athletes:
two disabled, two able-bodied and one a wheelchair user. Through the weekend, teams
raced the clock and each other, rafting the Colorado River, mountain biking old tracks and
trails, rappelling off granite cliffs and navigating rocky terrain. Reaching the finish line on
Sunday afternoon, all teams were elated in completing the Challenge and deeply satisfied
with new friendships forged through adventure.

Lo c ation : Washington, D.C. and Harris, New York
parti c ipants : 38

Developmentally disabled athletes of all ages annually join able-bodied coaches in
suburban Washington, D.C. and in New York’s Catskill Mountains near Harris for Adventure
Team Challenges. In 2014, participating athletes rode bicycles, canoed lakes and waterways,
hiked trails and successfully completed each stage. By pushing boundaries and undertaking
physical challenges, the athletes and their families left inspired and encouraged. Support
came from event partners like The Center for Discovery, a national specialty center for the
advanced care and treatment of children and adults with significant disabilities, medical
complexities and autism spectrum disorders, and Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity’s Push America
national philanthropy program.
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