Event organizer Jo Crawford said: “We are introducing adaptive equipment so that everyone can play. If you are disabled, you usually have to sit on the sidelines watching others play But not when we come.

Crawford said the first of the two days at Lake Havasu was a success, with dozens of participants from local organizations such as Milemarkers, New Horizons and Rise Service spending most of the day on the beach and on the lake. spent in

“Things are going very well,” Crawford said. “We have been blessed with so many amazing attendees and volunteers. It’s really cool to be in Mojave County. We also support people with disabilities such as Parkinson’s disease and ALS, so we want to increase the number of people with disabilities.We also want to have more children.”

“Definitely a Day Worth Living”

Perhaps the farthest participant from home at Friday’s event was Nirmala Bhandari from Nepal, who had his left leg amputated just below the hip joint at a young age.

Bhandari is currently in the US to participate in a five-week program called the Global Sports Mentoring Program through the US Department of State. By increasing access and opportunities for sport.

Bhandari’s goal when he returns to Nepal is to involve children with disabilities in the country in physical education classes in schools. She said she was not allowed to participate in physical education when she was growing up because of her disability.

Barb Peacock, Bhandari mentor for the program, said the program now has 19 delegates from 16 countries. Bhandari and a man from Turkey are spending time with Peacock in the United States thanks to Arizona Disable his sports sponsorship. According to Peacock, Bhandari traveled around the state meeting with various people and visited schools in Arizona to take modified physical education classes for students with disabilities and learn more about the process. increase.

But Friday’s trip to Havasu for the Arizona Adaptive Watersports Day was more of a holiday to have a good time. , said he has been rafting and recently completed a 32-day trip around Nepal on a scooter.

“If you sit around all the time, you’ll get bored,” she said.

She said she wanted to try everything she could on the water, but didn’t get a chance to try water skiing until Friday.

Bhandari started the day on the lake with an adaptive waterski that allows you to sit on a central ski with two smaller skis attached to each side that act as outriggers for a stable ride. After his one lap around the event area, Bandari decided to up the difficulty by trying out his skis without the extra stability.

“It was my first time waterskiing, so it was hard to keep my balance,” she said. “I love doing adventurous things. It really refreshed my soul. This is definitely a day worth living.”

After a short ride on the monoski, Bandari lost his balance and fell into the water. But Arizona Adaptive his water sports volunteers were doing well. He has two jet skis following Bandari, each with additional riders ready to dive within seconds.

“The first time I fell, I was so scared. I was thinking, ‘What am I not doing to make this happen,'” Bhandari said. “Then I talked to the volunteers and they said that people who are learning fall down a few times. I kept doing it and it was fun.”

Bhandari fell a few more times during one lap of the monoski event space. But she never thought of giving up. After her second fall, she asked if one of her volunteers wanted to continue. Bhandari, without hesitation, emphasized that she was quick to say yes.

“I love doing adventurous things,” said Bhandari. “I am always exploring new things and this was on my to-do list. must care, but the soul is wild.

Arizona Adaptive Watersports returns to Crazy Horse Lake today. Crawford said Saturday will likely see fewer attendees as there are no local organizations scheduled. But she said she expects more individuals and families to come from areas like Phoenix and Las Vegas.

“A lot of these guys work all week, so they’ll be heading here for the fun on the weekends,” Crawford said.

Crawford also encourages locals interested in adaptive water sports like kayaking, tubing and waterskiing to visit Crazy Horse and see what it’s all about.

“Just come out and have a look. Get on the boat, see what we’re doing, see the equipment, talk to the staff,” Crawford said. Educate yourself while you’re here, because we’re only here two days a year.”