Students Ford Burttram and Stephanie Wheeler enjoy the scenery on Lake Nicol during the UA Adapted Outdoor Recreation program's recent trip.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Students with disabilities at The University of Alabama now have the opportunity to participate in outdoor recreation activities adapted to their needs thanks to a collaborative effort of UA Disability Sports and University Outdoor Recreation.

The University is offering outdoor recreation activities adapted for students with disabilities starting this fall semester.

“University Recreation is proud to offer programs that advance opportunities for all students regardless of physical ability or challenges,” says Derrick Taff, University Outdoor Recreation coordinator.

The expansion of the Outdoor Recreation program to include students with disabilities is the brainchild of Taff and Jake Counts, assistant coach of the UA Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team.

“This is an opportunity for disabled persons to explore different avenues of outdoor activities. Disabled people usually do tennis, basketball or other indoor recreation. This offers a different take on recreation for the disabled,” Counts said.

Dr. Brent Hardin, director of UA Disability Sports, says that the collaboration with Outdoor Recreation to offer activities for persons with disabilities makes perfect sense. “George Brown (University Recreation Director) and his staff have been just incredible in working to create more opportunities in sport and recreation for students with disabilities on campus.

“The thing that excites me about the Adapted Outdoor Recreation program is that it will not only provide a great outlet for our current wheelchair athletes to get involved in outdoor recreation but it should also pull in other students with disabilities on campus who may not be interested in competitive wheelchair sports,” Hardin commented.

UA students Alana Nichols, Stephanie Wheeler and Blake Loftin use specially outfitted touring kayaks to paddle on Lake Nicol in the first activity of UA's new Adapted Outdoor Recreation program.

Counts is working now to acquire the specialized equipment such as hand-powered road and mountain bikes, adapted kayaks & canoes, and full-body harnesses for rock climbing.

“Adaptive sports have afforded me numerous opportunities that have improved the quality of my life. I really love the idea of using the outdoors to give other students and employees at the University with disabilities the same opportunities,” Counts said.

The first adapted recreation activity was on Sept.10 when seven students and three guides took an adapted paddling trip on Lake Nicol; the disabled students used specially outfitted touring kayaks. Future events will include rock climbing, mountain biking and road biking, all with specialized equipment for students with ambulatory disabilities.

For more information on these trips or to learn more about the Adapted Outdoor Recreation program, contact Taff at 205/348-7045 and go to the Web site http://urec.sa.ua.edu/or_outdoor_recreation.html.

For more information about UA Disability Sports, contact Hardin at 205/348-5109 and visit the UADS Web site at www.bama.ua.edu/~uads.