Stay on Track Adaptive Rallycross Camp at Dirtfish Rally School!!!

Adaptive Action Sports and Dirtfish Rally School present "Stay on Track" Rallycross Camp!!

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On July 11-12, four injured veterans, working with Adaptive Action Sports “Veterans in Action” program, will have the opportunity to skid and tear their way across coarse terrain as guests at a two-day training being donated by the DirtFish Rally School (www.dirtfish.com) in Snoqualmie, WA.  

The training is the kick-off event in a rallycross train and race series called “Stay on Track” by Adaptive Action Sports (AAS), Inc., a non-profit whose mission is to create and promote Action Sports camps, events and programs for youth, young adults and military personnel/veterans who live with permanent physical disabilities.  Since its founding in 2005 by Amy Purdy, a below-the-knee double amputee, and board sports enthusiast Daniel Gale, AAS has primarily made skateboard and snowboard opportunities available to that segment of the disabled population who thrive on meeting the challenge and risk offered by these sports.  

“In 2010, we expanded our existing programs to include a Veterans-in-Action focus,” explains Daniel Gale, AAS Executive Director.  “Our first two AAS Veterans Learn to Ride and Race snowboard camps, held in 2011, were very successful.  From these camps, we learned that ‘getting back in action’ is the preferred means by which many injured military personnel successfully cope with their disabilities.”

In response to Veterans’ requests and with help from sponsors like Freedom Innovations and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AAS is launching continuing opportunities for Injured Military Personnel and Veterans to learn and improve their rally racing skills or “Stay on Track.”  The Track will eventually provide competition opportunities.   

The camp will be held at DirtFish Rally School, North America’s premier rally training facility. Their 315 acre property offers a unique environment to learn.  With mud, gravel, and dirt surfaces peppered amongst abandoned warehouses and buildings, DirtFish offers a classroom akin to a real-life video game. DirtFish recently hosted the second stop on the Global RallyCross circuit. 

DirtFish offers a range of training programs for all levels of drivers.  In addition to many passionate thrill seekers, DirtFish has also worked with action sports stars like Dave Mirra and Shaun White.  “We’re thrilled to support Adaptive Action Sports in their mission,” said DirtFish President, Ross Bentley.  “We’re really looking forward to working with these students and giving them a great foundation of skills on their quest to be professional rally drivers.”

Participants at the July 11-12 camp will learn left-foot-braking, advanced steering skills, handbrake turns, braking on various surfaces, skid control, advanced cornering skills, competition starts, the use of pace notes, and techniques for reading the terrain. Courses will include asphalt, gravel, dirt and mud surfaces to be experienced in whatever weather conditions prevail.  Each camp day will include approximately six hours of driving and instructed observation time.   

Experienced AAS staff and volunteers will be on hand to address the “adaptive” needs of camp participants. Adaptive Moto X two-time Gold Medalist and accomplished racecar driver Chris Ridgway, a single below knee amputee, will be on hand to address the special needs of an adaptive race car driver.   

On Day 2, one camp participant will be selected (by a to-be-determined method) to be awarded transportation to, and a  full access pass for, the 2011 ESPN X Games 17 where he/she will have the opportunity to meet top rally drivers.

A long-range “Stay on Track” goal is to provide sanctioned, recognized rally racing opportunities for adaptive drivers.  “Our down-the-road vision,” Gale said, “is adaptive divisions within regional Global RallyCross Championships and X Games Rally contests.”

For additional information, contact Bruce Cleland of DirtFish Rally School at 425-577-2616 or AAS Executive Director Daniel Gale at 619-770-0240.  

Check out Shaun White getting down and dirty at Dirtfish with BFGoodrich! Find more videos of Shaun at Dirtfish Rally School at http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/shaunwhite/.

Shoe City Invitational at the ESPN Summer X Games 17 by AAS

July 31, 2011, will be a big day at the Summer XGames for adaptive skaters. 

Adaptive Action Sports – with support from Shoe City -- will host a morning learn-to-ride clinic (9-10 a.m.) followed by an invitation-only skate competition from 11 a.m. to noon.  A 30-minute practice session will precede the competition.  The events will take place in downtown Los Angeles at the official X Games interactive skate park in the X Games village. 

The morning clinic and afternoon events, called The AAS Vet X Experience, will be open to permanently disabled youth and veterans, particularly those living in the Los Angeles area.  Oscar Loreto, Director of the new LA Skateboard Sector for AAS, will direct the coaching program.  Basic level skills will be offered for first-time skaters and practiced riders will receive assistance in improving their current techniques.  (See Camp Woodward: Steven and Oscar “No Handicap Here” on Fuel TV to see Oscar’s coaching in action.)

 

Additional AAS staff and athletes, including below-the-knee amputee and skateboard champion Evan Strong, will be available to help assure that clinic participants receive individual attention and support.

 

Protec will provide protective gear (helmets and pads) for the session and skateboards will be provided by Element. Passes to attend the day’s X Games events will be awarded to veterans, who register for and participate in the clinic.  The participants will also have the opportunity to meet several X Games pro athletes and will be provided lunch.

The Competition will feature 10 to 12 adaptive skateboarders, invited by Adaptive Action Sports.  Guest judges will score the event and a purse of $2500 will be awarded by Shoe City to the rider with the highest overall score. 

The Shoe City AAS competition will be the third in a summer adaptive skateboard series sponsored by Shoe City in 2011.  The preceding competitions will be held on June 25 by Life Rolls On at the Venice Skate Park in Venice Beach, CA, and by Extremity Games on June 24-25 at Texas Ski Ranch, San Antonio, TX. 

For more information on the Shoe City/AAS events, contact AAS Executive Director Daniel Gale at Daniel@adacs.org or AAS LA Skate Sector Director Oscar Loreto at Oscar@adacs.org. 

Aaron Fotheringham at the AAS Adaptive Skate Jam during Summer X 16

Mike Rodgers from Grind for Life at X Games 16

Kurt Yeager at X 16

Oscar Loreto "Already Been Done" article by Robert Brink

Robert Brink interviews Adaptive Action Sports L.A. Skateboard Sector Director and Athlete, Oscar Loreto, who lets us in for a closer look at his skateboard experience.  


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