WASATCH ADAPTIVE SPORTS INC

Wasatch Adaptive Sports was founded in 1977 as the first nonprofit organization to provide year-round adaptive recreational programming along the Wasatch Front. The scope and reach of programming has expanded over the organization’s 40 year history, and today WAS is guided by our mission to encourage individuals with adaptive needs and their families to realize their potential and engage in active living through recreational, educational, and social programs. Core programming includes adaptive lessons in a range of sports, the largest of which are adaptive cycling and skiing. WAS is geared specifically toward individuals with mobility limitations due to medical and neurological conditions including, but not limited to, stroke, amputation, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and acquired brain injury. Each of our programs progresses an individual from stationary to active by encouraging their abilities and adapting to their needs in order to make movement both comfortable and fun.

WAS sets itself apart as an organization in a number of important areas. The integrity of WAS’s program model implemented by our talented staff members is one such area. WAS’s primary programmatic focus is on building valuable skills in active living, which leads to a host of both physical and mental health benefits for participants. Each of our staff members and volunteers has a strong background in a related field, including experience in adaptive recreation as well as physical and occupational therapy. WAS enhances this background by providing an average of ten trainings each year that are conducted by organizational leadership in conjunction with prominent physicians, psychologists, and therapists.

WAS also distinguishes itself by the population the organization serves. Instead of targeting destination guests as adaptive programs based in ski towns often do, our focus is on engaging individuals living in the local area. Ninety-three percent of our participants reside in Salt Lake, Summit, Davis, and Utah County. This local focus means that WAS is serving a lower income demographic, as one in four Utahns with a disability falls below the poverty line. Believing strongly that adaptive recreation should be accessible to all, 95% of participants receive scholarships in order to relieve financial barriers to program engagement. WAS’s regional focus combined with the strength of our programming has led to partnerships with premiere medical institutions in the Intermountain West. Our partner practitioners enthusiastically refer patients to WAS in order to provide non-clinical activities that promote rehabilitation, community integration, and independence. Partner providers include University of Utah Health Care, Primary Children’s Medical Center, Shriners Hospital for Children, Utah Neuro Rehabilitation, and Intermountain Medical Center, among others.

During FY2015-2016, over 850 adults, children, and veterans participated in 3,348 WAS lessons, representing an increase of 32% over the previous year. This fiscal year, WAS is on pace to achieve an additional 17-20% increase in participation. As WAS continues to grow to meet the increased demand for our programming, we have prioritized consistent and comprehensive program evaluation to ensure our services are having the desired effect on participants. Organizational leadership actively seeks to measure both reach and impact, and we continuously reflect on this collected data to inform the course of WAS programming.

As an organization, WAS actively tracks the number of students reached and the frequency of their participation as well as demographic and diagnosis information specific to each individual student. To measure individual impact, instructors fill out progress reports following each lesson that are maintained for every participant so that each lesson builds on the previous lesson. One athlete who has seen incredible improvement from his participation in WAS Programming is Noah, a 10-year-old participant with cerebral palsy. By biking 1-2 times per week with WAS for three months, Noah experienced tremendous improvement in his functional mobility, gait speed, endurance, and balance as measured by multiple tests executed by physicians and physical therapists. Noah is a full scholarship recipient who recreates with WAS year round and continues to experience tremendous improvement.

The impact WAS has had on Noah was measured through a study conducted by the University of Utah rehabilitation team in conjunction with WAS. This pilot study measured the effect of participating in WAS’s cycling program through three independent tests which measured functional mobility, gait speed, balance, and endurance. Eighty percent of participants demonstrated improved mobility by such a degree that the clinicians concluded that functional improvements occurred in their day-to-day lives. Participating researchers were greatly impressed by the results of this study, and a publishable study is planned with the same team in the spring of 2017.

WAS also distributes regular surveys to participants and their caretakers that focus on the impact of WAS participation on physical and mental health as well as opportunities for program growth and improvement. In our most recent survey, 100% of WAS program participants reported a positive trend toward physical, social, and/or mental improvement after the first lesson. Additionally, respondents reported improvement in confidence and self-esteem (83.33%), quality of life (79.17%), and strength (77.08%) as a result of WAS participation. Each of these evaluation mechanisms is ongoing and WAS continually reflects on these strategies in order to best gauge impact.

WAS prioritizes deliberate and purposeful expansion that centers on maintaining the integrity of our program model, and thus in the coming years we aim for a sustainable annual growth rate of 7-14%. As WAS grows to serve more individuals in need of scholarship assistance, we seek to establish new relationships with supporters who are aligned with our mission and goals.