OAS Update – COVID-19

Also posted in: Thrive Guide

Updated: Wednesday, April 29th, 2020

Dear OAS Community,

The health and safety of our community continues to be the top priority for OAS and as such we have been following the developments with COVID-19, especially those locally and regionally.

Due to recent developments and declarations from state government we are making the following decisions regarding the upcoming Ski For All, remainder of our winter season, and future events.

  • Ski For All The COVID-19 situation continues to develop rapidly. We received directive late last night (Thursday, March 12) to postpone the Ski For All indefinitely in effort to maximize social distancing efforts in our community. As such, we will not be hosting any official events tomorrow at Mt Bachelor or at Bend Brewing Company.If you are an adaptive skier registered to ski with OAS staff tomorrow we will be in communication with you soon regarding your experience(s) this weekend, as of this moment we intend to honor those experiences as our final day of lessons on Saturday.Ultimately the goal of the Ski For All is to celebrate the OAS mission and to generate significant support for OAS’ programs. We believe we have done both, though we are disappointed to not fully celebrate tomorrow with everyone on the mountain.

    We will be exploring options on how to carry out the Ski For All in a modified format at a later date and any updates on this will be communicated. Prizes have been delivered to individuals in the Bend area and neck tubes by mail to those elsewhere.

    Your contributions to the event ultimately play a role in the 2000 experiences and 500 individuals with disabilities OAS serves each year. Your support has raised over $72,000 for these athletes and programs and we cannot thank you enough for that!

  • Winter Programs – Because of continuing developments, OAS is cancelling all lessons starting on Sunday, March 15th. Any pre-paid lesson fees will be refunded in full. More details on refunds will be communicated to you directly if you are affected by these cancellations, please allow us some time to get these communications to you.
  • Ongoing Events – Fortunately we are nearing OAS’ shoulder season where events and programs are minimal until late-May. Any events we currently have scheduled such as the end of season volunteer appreciation party will be postponed. Rest assured we will still throw a big party when the opportunity allows to thank all of the individuals who have dedicated so much time to OAS this winter.
  • Summer – We are fortunate in that OAS is just two weeks away from an annual and planned “shoulder season.” OAS is optimistic that we will resume operations as normal at some point this summer. Summer is just around the corner and there are lots of outdoor adventures in our future. For now, we remain on hold until further information is available.

Changes to OAS operations and events will be communicated as the situation continues to develop. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and should you have any questions or concerns please contact me directly at pat@oregonadaptivesports.org.

Sincerely,

Pat Addabbo
Executive Director.