By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
RSA members enjoying pizza on the sunny deck at Snow Valley. (Photo by Rhea-Frances Tetley)
With the recent snowstorms covering the mountain with snow, the Rim Special Athletes invited its members to come to Snow Valley for a day of tubing, socializing and pizza.
“It was a fun day of ‘Slides, Slices and Smiles,’” said RSA President Jack Cooperman. Many of the RSA autistic and special needs members, ranging in age from 6 to 50, attended the tubing activity day at Snow Valley. They came to enjoy a day of tubing down the slopes and socializing with their friends, while enjoying what seemed like unlimited pizza. The smiles were evident everywhere.
Racing down the tubing slopes was “a blast,” said everyone. (Photo by David Motley)
Rim Special Athletes Foundation offers individual sporting opportunities and activities for individuals and athletes with special needs. The organization presents various fun activities and rehabilitation opportunities for its members, with a wide range of interests. Their winter activities occur on the mountain, stretching from Running Springs to the Lake Arrowhead and Crestline areas. The foundation has been doing this for about a decade, at no cost to the participants.
RSA offers programs year-round and some winter programs are done inside due to the weather. At the Rim Bowling Center they will be having another pizza/bowl day later this month.
“The next bowling and pizza party is being scheduled to occur during Rim of the World Unified School District’s spring break,” said Cooperman. The pizza/bowl days they’ve previously held were so much fun and declared “delicious.” The bowling alley allows the members to bowl, eat pizza and play the video games and arcade machines in the video arcade area. They put bumpers up on some of the lanes and others used the ball racks to slide the balls down the alleys. Fun was the word of the day.
An RSA member smiling big as he enjoyed the ride. (Photo by David Motley)
The Rim Special Athletes Foundation is a group of volunteers who provide activities for individuals with special needs and offers rehabilitation opportunities for those veterans who have been injured during their service to the country. RSA’s objectives and purposes are to provide a recreational experience that is safe and positive for adaptive individuals and veterans.
RSA is in the midst of their veterans’ winter rehabilitation ski program at Snow Valley.
During the summer, RSA also has special beach days at Lake Arrowhead where the members use RSA’s aqua bikes, stand-up paddle boards, kayaks and lily pads and go swimming. Usually at least once a summer the County Fire boat visits and the members get to ride on it and shoot the water cannon, which in past years has received a high “fun rating” from RSA members.
For those who want to learn more about Rim Special Athletes, see their website at www.rimspecialathletes.com and sign up for their activities. If this sounds like a good activity for your special child, please contact Rim Special Athletes and get involved in their programs.
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