Second Annual Tri It Camp Introduces Visually Impaired Women to a New Sport

Training for a triathlon is arduous, at best. So training for a
triathlon as a blind or visually impaired athlete seems downright
impossible.

But for former U.S. disabled ski team racer and Paralympic athlete
Nancy Stevens, continuing her long-standing competitive career — and
sharing that passion with other visually impaired women — has been one
of her new goals for life. And this past weekend, the world champion
blind triathlete and Glenwood Springs resident held the second annual
Tri It camp for women.

The three-day instructional camp introduces blind athletes and sighted
guides to the sport of triathlon, featuring basic swim lessons, tandem
biking and running. The camp concluded with a mini triathlon on Sunday
that included a 15-minute swim, a five-mile bike ride and a
mile-and-one-half run.

“I’ve always loved sports,” Stevens said. “And I really just wanted to pass that gift along to other women who are blind.”

Stevens came up with the idea, appropriately enough, while she and her
sighted guide, 20-year triathlete and USAT Level 1 Coach Nancy
Reinisch, were out on a run.

“Nancy (Reinisch) was the first female guide to guide at the world
championships,” Stevens said. “And there haven’t been many sighted
women who’ve learned how to guide.

“In order to race at the world championship level, you have to race
with the same gender. So far, women have been really intimidated by the
whole thing. And so we said, ‘Why don’t we teach some women to do this,
so it will open up more doors for women who are blind, and help them
get involved in a lifestyle of fitness?’”

This year six athletes and eight guides converged on the Hot Springs
Lodge and Pool in Glenwood Springs, spending the bulk of the mornings
receiving training in the three sports. But sports training aside, the
weekend was also about interacting with like-minded women.

“It’s just such a great opportunity to build camaraderie and build a
network of folks,” Stevens said. “One of the best parts is that guides
and athletes might go home with a new connection and someone they can
meet up with and train with, and that’s a great thing.”

But while familiarizing the athletes with the sport and the equipment
is definitely one of the focuses of the camp instruction, it isn’t the
biggest difficulty these women face.

“The biggest challenge is developing that confidence in each other,”
Stevens said. “You really have to make sure the communication system
works. Sometimes the guide feels overly responsible, wondering if the
person is going to trip or if they’ll run into something. But that’s a
part of all sports. You have to be willing to take that risk and know
that if someone falls down, they’ll get right back up. And you also
have to know that you’re doing the best you can.”

Stevens is relocating to Bend, Ore., in a few weeks, and hopes that someone will keep the camp running here in future years.

“From the bike shops to the grants we received to the Hot Springs Lodge
and Pool, the community support here was nothing short of amazing. The
hardest part was finding tandem bikes short enough for women 5 foot 3
and under.”

damien@aspendailynews.com [1]