As Idaho athletes compete in the Winter Paralympics, the Challenged Athletes Foundation in Idaho fosters a local adaptive sports community by providing training.
BOISE, Idaho — As the Winter Paralympics begin Friday in Italy, six Idahoans are set to represent Team USA on the world stage.
Back home, a growing adaptive sports community is making sure athletes with physical disabilities have access to training, equipment and competition opportunities year-round.
“We just have a lot of different sport clinic opportunities for people to try something that maybe they’ve never tried before, or really kind of dive into a sport that they want to get better at or learn more about,” said Heather Lopez, director of CAF Idaho.
The Challenged Athletes Foundation Idaho helps athletes obtain adaptive equipment such as racing chairs, hand cycles and prosthetics, gear that can cost thousands of dollars and often presents a barrier to participation.
This is done through a grant process.
“It’s not just about elite competition,” said Lopez.
“I absolutely love what I do,” she said.
Lopez said the organization focuses on building community as much as athletic performance.
“The power of sports is so much greater than just the sport itself. Sports brings people together,” Lopez said.
That sense of community will show during CAF Idaho’s Winter Sports Weekend, which begins Thursday and runs through the weekend.
Sixty athletes are signed up to participate, including about twenty traveling from outside Idaho.
Events will include alpine skiing at Bogus Basin, sled hockey at Idaho IceWorld and indoor biathlon drills and wheelchair curling at the Idaho Outdoor Fieldhouse. Organizers adjusted some activities because of a warm winter, swapping Nordic skiing for indoor training options.
Beyond hosting clinics and competitions, CAF Idaho also provides grant funding to help cover training and equipment costs.
“Whether it’s, you know, a sports chair, wheelchair, basketball chair. It’s a, you know, a mono ski that they need to be able to get out on the mountain, or an adaptive mountain bike. We’re able to fulfill those requests and help so that cost isn’t a barrier,” she said.
That support extends all-the-way up to the highest level of competition, the Paralympics.
CAF Idaho ambassador Josh Sweeney is competing in Nordic skiing and biathlon at the Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. He is one of several Idaho athletes who have used CAF grants to help train.
Still, Lopez said the mission goes beyond the Paralympic stage.
“I had someone tell me that it changed their life, getting a piece of equipment that they needed to be able to do things with their family, go out and ride bikes with their family,” Lopez said.
As Idaho athletes prepare to compete internationally, CAF Idaho leaders say their focus remains local, removing barriers and creating opportunities for athletes of all abilities.