About Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind

The Ski & Winter Sports Athletic Club from FSDB’s Blind Department has been making its annual trip to Colorado for almost 30 years. “When we started the club back in the early ’80s we never thought we would still be going today!” laughed Linda Meehan, the only remaining original FSDB staff member sponsoring the trip. “Originally, the trip was planned as a one-time senior class trip, and that initial trip was such a successful experience for our students, that we quickly realized it was something we wanted to provide for our students annually. Blind Department high school students must earn the trip each year through a competitive system where they are awarded points for their GPA, their behavior and school conduct, physical workouts, and participation in extra-curricular activities on campus. 

The FSDB students and accompanying sponsors join other visually impaired students from all over the United States at the Extreme Mobility Camp, a 501c3 organization. There, the group participate together in cross country and downhill skiing, snow tubing, snowmobiling, indoor water park fun, and rock wall climbing.

Funding for the Ski and Winter Athletic club and its annual trip is provided solely by donations from various ski clubs in Florida and from the Florida Ski Council, which solicits donations of money and clothing each year so FSDB students can have this wonderful opportunity. Without the support of the Florida Ski Council’s 15-member ski clubs from around the state, the trip would be too costly for the student group, and a fabulous, confidence-building experience would be lost.

Perhaps a freshman skier summed it up best when asked if he enjoyed the trip? “Oh, yes!’ he replied enthusiastically, “It was life-changing!” And that’s why it never gets old for any of us.