Inch by inch, participants pull themselves to the top of 麻豆原创\u2019s adaptive-climbing rock tower, ascending high above their wheelchairs and achieving new heights that others sometimes think they can\u2019t reach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like a bit of freedom,\u201d said Katherine Torres, a student majoring in health services administration who has a muscle weakness that doesn\u2019t allow her to stand or walk. \u201cI\u2019ve always been one to challenge myself. And when a lot of people say I can\u2019t do something \u2013 just watch. I didn\u2019t know what to expect, but when I got half way there I thought to myself \u2018I\u2019m going to keep on going. I can do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Some other universities in Florida offer rock climbing to their students, but 麻豆原创 is the only one to have an adaptive climbing wall, giving students with limited mobility a chance to climb, said Nathan Vink, assistant director of 麻豆原创\u2019s Outdoor Adventure program.<\/p>\n
This summer the Recreation and Wellness Center provided special training to eight staffers to jump-start its new adaptive-climbing program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a growing focus in recreation \u2013 to look beyond the able-bodied student and offer opportunities to all students, whether with physical or mental disabilities,\u201d Vink said about the campus Student Assisted Workout program. \u201cOur goals are also to try to reach the students who aren\u2019t here yet, to open up opportunities. We have students who don\u2019t have the same abilities, but they do have abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The adaptive-climbing program empowers students, whether beginners or experienced, to reach their potential on the 41-foot tower.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey challenge themselves. They set their own goals,\u201d Vink said. \u201cWe don\u2019t tell them they have to reach the top. We\u2019re supportive of what they want to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
The center trained staffers in the techniques of harnessing climbers in the equipment and controlling the safety ropes as the participants ascend. The climbers use a handlebar-style device that grips a rope and slowly ratchets them upwards as they repeatedly pull downward on the bar.<\/p>\n
The ratchet system requires a quarter of the strength that other climbers would need to ascend the rope. There are different seat harnesses with various strapping and padding to help with pressure issues, and participants with prosthetic limbs can use the equipment in a way to help propel them up the rock face.<\/p>\n
Torres, who also works in the Recreation and Wellness Center, said she heard about the campus climbing tower two years ago when she was a freshman, and has long wished she could somehow try to scale it \u2013 even if the prospect of ascending the tower was a little intimidating. And now with the staffers on duty to help, she has made the trip up twice.<\/p>\n
Kristen Cioce, who uses a wheelchair because of a spinal cord injury, was hesitant at first to try the tower, but said she went up to fulfill a promise to one of her physical trainers \u2013 and it was an exhilarating experience that she\u2019d do again if the opportunity came up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not something I was looking forward to doing. At first it was something I was trying to get out of,\u201d said Cioce, who graduated last month with a master’s degree in social work. \u201cBut it\u2019s an amazing opportunity that 麻豆原创 offers.”<\/p>\n
Vink said the staffers also talk with the climbers to allay any fears about heights or falling. And as the climbers ascend, staffers \u201cbelay\u201d the safety ropes \u2013 or take up the slack to prevent slips.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery student is unique,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just try to see how we can help them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three students used the system during the summer, and now that the fall semester has started, Vink expects others to check out the adaptive-climbing experience.<\/p>\n
What advice do the veteran climbers have for others?<\/p>\n
\u201cI highly recommend it to any student who has inabilities,\u201d Cioce said. \u201cJust follow your gut if you\u2019re being led to do it. You don\u2019t have<\/em> to get to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n And while\u00a0people in wheelchairs usually feel smaller than others, Torres said, “This is a time to feel bigger than everyone. You can have a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information about the climbing program or to schedule a climb, visit<\/em> http:\/\/rwc.sdes.ucf.edu\/facilities\/climbing-tower.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inch by inch, participants pull themselves to the top of 麻豆原创\u2019s adaptive-climbing rock tower, ascending high above their wheelchairs and achieving new heights that others sometimes think they can\u2019t reach. \u201cIt feels like a bit of freedom,\u201d said Katherine Torres, a student majoring in health services administration who has a muscle weakness that doesn\u2019t allow her to stand or walk.…","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":68069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,26],"tags":[14212,14067,14214,3910],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-68068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-sports","tag-katherine-torres","tag-nathan-vink","tag-outdoor-adventure","tag-recreation-and-wellness-center"],"yoast_head":"\n