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| P.A.W.S. Drafts 2007-2008 Season, Seeks Participants |
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| Written by Sally Bair | |
| Wednesday, 17 October 2007 | |
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Duluth, MN USA, October 10, 2007 – The partnership between Special Olympics Minnesota and sled dog sports (P.A.W.S. – Promoting Abilities with Sleddogs) kicked off its third season with a Steering Committee planning conference aimed at expanding its program and soliciting more participants. P.A.W.S. is a program aimed at opening up sled dog sports to athletes with intellectual disabilities. A three-pronged approach, it combines competition with education and recreation to promote a healthy life style through sled dog sports. At the core of the program is the pairing of people with intellectual disabilities, many of whom are Special Olympics athletes, with mushers, who act as mentors and use their dogs and equipment. The first year of P.A.W.S. was capped with a race event in connection with the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth, MN USA. P.A.W.S. anticipates expanding its program to several race venues, beginning with the East Meets West Dryland Race in Brainerd (MN), November 17-18, 2007. Already P.A.W.S. athletes have committed to compete at the Brainerd Speedway in a 2-dog cart class especially designed for their disability levels. Several snow races are also in the works as possible competition sites for the P.A.W.S. athletes in 2008, and P.A.W.S. anticipates training and recreation sessions at Peter McClelland’s kennel in Ely, MN, a distance musher who came on board P.A.W.S. in 2007. With ever increasing interest in P.A.W.S., more volunteers are needed to meet the demands of the program. Therefore, P.A.W.S. is also seeking more people who would be interested in working on its Steering Committee. The time commitment is minimal, but input and follow-through are essential. If you want to help plan the course of a wonderful program, this is the place to be! Besides seeking more people for its Steering Committee, P.A.W.S. is also soliciting mushers who would wish to mentor the Special Olympics athletes. The commitment is for about 2-4 hours a month spent with the P.A.W.S. athlete, but the rewards are many. Robyn Smith, a mentor, succinctly described her first year’s experience with the program: “You get back much more than you give.” Other mentors echo a similar sentiment. If you or someone you know is interested in the P.A.W.S. program, please contact Sally O. Bair, Duluth, MN, Tel: 218-525-4012, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Kathy Karkula, Special Olympics Minnesota, Tel: 612-333-0999, ext. 272, Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Comments (0)
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