Context

Exercise and sports participation can be used as a therapeutic and preventative intervention for enhancing physical and mental health.It also can enhance mental health by offering positive feelings about self-esteem, tangible experiences of competency and success, and increased self-confidence."
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 1997.

High-challenge sports, such as windsurfing, rowing/sculling, kayaking, water-skiing, stand alone as ultimate challenges, offering both fun as well as health benefits.

AccesSportAmerica is the only program in the United States dedicated to innovative instruction and the development of the sport of windsurfing for children and adults with disabilities.

Children and adults with disabilities need opportunities to participate in the widest possible range of life's opportunities.

"Today, one in five Americans has some level of disability, with one in ten characterized as severe."
Easter Seals

High-challenge sports programs, for individuals with any disability teach and model the process of seeking and achieving hard-to-reach accomplishments.

Participants know, after a day with AccesSportAmerica, that they are so much more than their disability. The programs are designed to effect change in attitude, esteem, and expectation for a life lived with disability.

AccesSportAmerica has been successful in adapting to every disability from quadriplegia and paraplegia to sight impairment, blindness, and emotional disorders.

Participants enjoy increased physical activity, leisure opportunities, positive life view, and involvement in activities otherwise perceived as elite.

They experience a sense of unparalleled accomplishment through the mastery of balance, coordination and fear, impacting how they feel about themselves.

Participation in high challenge sports promotes strength, endurance and decision-making skills, while building self-esteem and assurance.