[Sportsandrec] More Sporting and Recreational Opportunities

[Peter Donahue]

Good evening again everyone,

	While we're not opposed to Yoga, meditation, dancing, and activities done at the national convention this division needs to explore ways to offer challenge activities during the year in various parts of the country. Kendra's post brought this to mind as I was reading her description of the ocean and rocks she must navigate. It seems like this is exactly the kind of thing this division needs to be doing to show blind children and adults that it's possible to enjoy the great outdoors and to commune with nature. If Eric Weihenmeyer was able to summit Mt. Everest this division ought to be able to organize hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, rock climbing, caving, golf, skiing, and many other activities blind people have done successfully to introduce more blind individuals to these activities, to get them moving, and to show family members, and others that blind people can participate in these sports and recreational activities like their sighted counterparts. Is anyone up to horse back riding or dog sledding? Th4ese activities have also been done successfully by the blind. It's time this division explored ways to offer such activities year-round and throughout the country.

	One way this could be accomplished would be to partner with various organizations that offer activities such as those listed above. For example Wilderness Inquiry offers trips to a number of U.S. and over-seas destinations to offer various wilderness experiences. Canoeing, Kayaking, rock climbing, snowshoing, dog sledding, horse back riding, and other outdoor activities.

	We along with at least one other federationist from California are members of the Sierra Club. In addition to its advocacy concerning environmental issues the Sierra Club offers various local, state, national, and international outings to offer their members various outdoor experiences. Perhaps the NFB through this division could partner with these organizations to further educate their members about blindness and the abilities of the blind and to offer blind youth and adults a wider variety of sporting and recreational opportunities.Self deffence, Yoga and the activities offered during the national convention have their place but their are blind people who want a wider variety of sports and recreational opportunities. I'll take a Yoga session after playing a round of golf, landing a few big ones on a deep sea fishing excursion, canoeing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, you get the idea.

	This division could do more to increase recreation and sporting opportunities by partnering with organizations like those mentioned above, finding sponsors to help cover the cost for blind participants in need  and empower its members to enable them to cover these costs on their own. This is a topic for the division to consider and we hope it's discussed at this year's meeting. All the best.

Peter Donahue