Sit Ski training! 

What went well?
This week we finally got snow!!! Super excited since our on snow training involved how to assist and lead visually impaired people on the skis as well as how to operate a sit ski! Training went well this week and starting next week we will start having a massive influx of lessons! I will be on the snow almost every day skiing and snowboarding on lessons! After the lessons I will definitely be snowboarding though since snowboarding > skiing 😏😏😏

What could have been done differently?
Due to my my supervisor's husband having an health emergency and needing to go to the hospital, the tabling idea has been put on a pause and I don't think it will be taking off this year unfortunately. But on the other hand this is why its so important to have a backup plan and in my case, I had proposed multiple ideas to my supervisor when initially contacting them so I was able to transition relatively quickly. My new project was to start an connection with local schools and coordinate the Adaptive Snowsports org with School Ski trips. I wouldn't have done anything differently. While there was an massive hickup in the original plan, I was able to jump to my alternate plan!

What did I learn about leadership?
This week I learned how to best work with people with disabilities when it comes to experiences such as skiing and snowboarding. Snowsports are considered an extreme sport and while resort riding on the bunny hill are very much on the calmer side to introduce and teach people to the sport, upper level resort riding and back country are completely different monsters. Now for people with disabilities, even the bunny hill can be extreme due to the numerous hurdles they need to overcome to just complete the same task. Regarding leadership, I find it extremely important to take your time learning people's weaknesses but also their unexpected strengths. For example, one of the visually impaired people whom volunteered to help us with training was almost completely blind, but what he explained to us was that while his eyesight was "slightly less than ideal" (his humor came completely out of left field) he has developed incredible hearing and can really pinpoint noise and its direction. As a person of all my senses, its incredible how he can almost visualize sounds as he describes them to us. 

What do I want to develop or focus on next?
Regarding my LIA, I will be reaching out to schools in the Otago region and Whakatipu area and getting in touch with their SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) to discuss their student enrollment and plans for ski trips.