World T.E.A.M. Sports 2015 Annual Review | Page 13

20 15 WORLD T.E.A.M. SPORTS AN N UA L R E V I E W EVENT ADVENTURE TEAM CHALLENGE NC 751FT [ 35°16'21.7"N 81°00'18.9"W ] NY 1,996FT [ 41°55'12.3"N 74°34'20.9"W ] CO 9,022FT [ 39°53'46.3"N -106°36'31.8"W ] LOCATIONS: Colorado, New York, North Carolina Writer T.S. Eliott once famously noted, “The journey, not the arrival, matters.” For participants of World T.E.A.M. Sports’ Adventure Team Challenges in Colorado’s high Gore Range, New York’s Catskill Mountains and the foothills of North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains, strategic cooperation and personal assistance helped each team successfully finish. Yet, a greater achievement was creating close, lasting friendships among the athletes through adventure and the uncertainty of competition. Since 2007’s inaugural Adventure Team Challenge in Colorado, World T.E.A.M. Sports’ only competitive event has expanded beyond the original high Rockies location to include developmentally-disabled athletes in New York and corporate and military athletes in western North Carolina. Debuting in 2015, the North Carolina Team Challenge presented by MetLife brought together teams of five, including two adaptive athletes, to undertake a complex route through Charlotte’s U.S. National Whitewater Center. Like the classic Colorado Team Challenge, participants found success by working together. At New York’s Frost Valley YMCA, The Center for Discovery and American Portfolios Financial Services continued their annual adaptive athlete Challenge in 2015. Participants climbed mountains, paddled across a lake and undertook cycling courses. Their joy and excitement encouraged family, friends and colleagues. As the participants of Colorado’s Adventure Team Challenge discover each year, lives can be changed through sports at altitude. COLORADO Biking Hiking  Mountain Climbing Orienteering Rafting ACTIVITIES:  DISTANCE: 30 Miles DURATION: 3 Days PARTICIPANTS:   50 Total 20 Disabled 30 Able Bodied NEW YORK Biking Hiking ACTIVITIES:  DISTANCE: 11 Miles DURATION: 3 Days PARTICIPANTS:   44 Total 22 Disabled 22 Able Bodied NORTH CAROLINA Off-Road Bicycling Orienteering  Rock Climbing  Whitewater Rafting  Zip Lining ACTIVITIES:  DISTANCE: 20 Miles DURATION: 3 Days PARTICIPANTS:   40 Total 16 Disabled 24 Able Bodied PHOTO CAPTION: Adventure Team Challenges in Colorado, New York and North Carolina offered athletes the opportunity to work together as teams in successfully completing challenging stages. Each team included disabled and able-bodied athletes, who undertook off-road bicycling, white water rafting, canoeing, orienteering, rope work and other outdoor activities. In all events, each team successfully finished. Photographs by Vance Jacobs, Sarah Bell, Brian Gliba and Tony Granata. 11