National Sports Center for the Disabled, Inc.

The mission of the NSCD is to enable the human spirit through therapeutic sport and recreation. To achieve this mission, the NSCD works to improve the lives of people with disabilities in two ways, tied to the two issues cited above:

1. The NSCD provides access to recreational and competitive adaptive sports in Colorado for people with all diagnoses, of all ability levels, and of all income levels. This access enables people with disabilities to discover activities that they can enjoy and share with others for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, adaptive sports engage participants in their communities through popular outdoor activities.

2. The NSCD helps participants to achieve individual therapeutic goals that have a long-term impact on their health, skills, and independence. A man with a spinal cord injury, for example, may have a goal of developing the upper body strength to transfer himself from wheelchair to sit ski without assistance. In another case, the parents of a child with autism may have a goal for their daughter to make a friend through the NSCD's rock climbing program. In both of these examples, as for every NSCD participant, the NSCD helps people with disabilities to work toward therapeutic goals that have a significant impact on their lives outside of the NSCD.

The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) was founded in 1970 when Hal O’Leary, a ski instructor at Winter Park Resort, volunteered to teach a group of children with amputations from Children’s Hospital Colorado. Hal quickly discovered the great demand for a ski program for people with disabilities and became a pioneer in the field, creating innovative adaptive equipment and designing methodologies for teaching people with disabilities. In the years since Hal taught that first adaptive ski lesson, NSCD has grown into an internationally renowned adaptive outdoor recreation and competition program. The advent of improved technologies and refinement in understanding the needs of individuals living with disabilities has also guided the NSCD in creating more diverse and inclusive opportunities for children and adults with a disability. 52 years later the NSCD is Colorado’s most comprehensive provider of adaptive outdoor experiences. We offer more programs, in more places, in more ways that change lives. With the core belief that everyone is able, and anything is possible, we use the power of adaptive innovation, recreation, and Colorado’s great outdoors to transform lives, families and communities and create a world that celebrates each person’s abilities.

Today, the NSCD's approach is driven by the same spirit of innovation that inspired the organization's founding. NSCD instructors and coaches are all highly trained in adaptive sports instruction and experienced in working with people with disabilities. Through providing expert and compassionate instruction, customized adaptive equipment, access to the best adventure sports venues, and even transportation to and from programs when needed, the NSCD breaks down barriers so that every person with a disability can participate. NSCD instructors customize instruction in every lesson to fit the needs and goals of each participant. Utilizing the principles of the field of therapeutic recreation, NSCD instructors also help every participant to achieve meaningful therapeutic outcomes that have a long-term impact on participants' health, life skills, independence, and well-being. NSCD programs are designed for regular and repeated participation so that individuals can develop relationships with their instructors, improve their sports skills, and make therapeutic progress.

The NSCD has been providing programs for people with disabilities for 51 years, with a strong track record of having the capacity to run and support high-quality programs. The NSCD has highly trained and experienced instructors and coaches, a passionate corps of over 1,200 volunteers, a range of adaptive equipment, a fleet of vehicles for transporting participants and instructors, and a 2,100 square-foot adaptive equipment lab.

One of the NSCD’s most unique attributes is its approach to community partnerships. In the NSCD’s 2021 budget, over one third of revenue comes from in-kind contributions in the form of facility use, lift tickets, IT, general counsel, and other goods and services. NSCD leaders have chosen not to construct or manage a program facility, instead utilizing community venues and public spaces to provide programs in participants’ own communities without the cost for NSCD of maintaining facilities. Partnerships with Winter Park Resort and the Denver Broncos provide the NSCD with office space, storage, and substantial operational support. These in-kind contributions allow donations from other funders to primarily support program expenses.

For 52 years, the NSCD has provided access for people with a disability in Colorado, by providing opportunities to engage in life changing adaptive outdoor recreation and competitive sports programs. The NSCD’s programs are designed to help everyone with a disability reach their goals and to help them to rethink ability and reimagine what is possible in their own lives.

Driven by the core belief that everyone is able, and anything is possible, we use the power of adaptive innovation, recreation, and Colorado’s great outdoors to help individuals with any and all disabilities, their caregivers and the broader community redefine what’s possible, rethink ability and advance the power of all abilities. By expanding access, opportunities and possibilities for people living with disabilities, we are transforming lives, families and communities while advancing a healthier, more equitable and inclusive world that celebrates each person’s abilities.