[Sportsandrec] More Sporting and Recreational Opportunities

Thu Jun 28 01:35:23 UTC 2018

Great idea.

-----Original Message-----
From: SportsandRec <sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Peter
Donahue via SportsandRec
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2018 8:34 PM
To: 'Sports and Recreation for the Blind Discussion List'
<sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Peter Donahue <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
Subject: [Sportsandrec] More Sporting and Recreational Opportunities

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

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