2024 Chattanooga Founding Campaign
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Ride
Donate to the Chattanooga aMTB Program Here
About the Program:
At Catalyst Sports, we believe that people with disabilities are people with abilities and should be living active and healthy lives in the midst of our community. Therefore, we give people with physical disabilities access to the life-changing impact of adventure sports like rock climbing, kayaking, and mountain biking, within a supportive and inclusive community. Our programs bring people with disabilities out of the margins and into communities that push them toward more active and healthy lives. Through these programs, participants with disabilities are empowered to discover their strengths and abilities and everyone discovers that we ALL play a part!
Mountain biking is one of the fastest-growing adventure sports in the world and it’s no surprise! The physical health benefits are incredible. Not to mention the sheer thrill and freedom people feel when riding a bike in the woods.
Unfortunately, because of the financial and physical barriers, without an organization like Catalyst Sports, the benefits of this incredible sport simply aren’t accessible.
Our Plan for Growth in Chattanooga:
As Catalyst continues to plant deep roots throughout the southeast, one particular chapter city that sits poised for growth is Chattanooga, TN. Over the next year we aim to expand our program offerings in Chattanooga by launching an Adaptive Mountain Biking Program.
WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP!
The Catalyst Sports Adaptive Mountain Biking program in Chattanooga will eliminate the physical and financial barriers to provide the necessary equipment, training, and support for people with physical disabilities to access the mountains and trails in their backyards. This program will allow individuals to leave their wheelchairs, walkers, crutches or any other mobility limitation behind to experience the thrill of mountain biking for the first time or to continue developing their skills.
What’s Needed:
In order to properly accommodate the disabled citizens of Chattanooga in this sport we need to further develop our training materials and provide special off-road capable equipment for those who don't have use of their legs, trikes for those with balance issues, pedal heel cups to help people with low muscle tone keep their feet on the pedals, and electric-assist motors for those who fatigue easily, a trailer for transporting equipment to multiple locations and for storage. Therefore, in order to ensure the most impact and success of this project, we need to come together to fund the equipment and resources necessary to make this program a reality.
How will this program be sustained?
Catalyst Sports programs are fueled by the support of community partners and volunteers. Catalyst will provide numerous training opportunities for volunteers. We train around 400 volunteers throughout the year. These volunteers work alongside our staff and commit hundreds of hours to ensure that these accessible adventure programs take place on a regular basis. In addition to those volunteers, we work closely with many local adventure-based business partners who donate their spaces and services to ensure these programs are executed on a regular basis.
It has been determined that having a trailer with bikes preloaded and stored will significantly reduce the amount of time spent on loading and unloading from a separate storage unit. It will also allow guided tours and rentals to happen without the need to transport these large bikes to the trailhead. And Finally, it will allow individuals to experience places they had never experienced before.
Plan
Our plan is to leave the trailer at various locations throughout the year. After 3-5 months the trailer will be moved to a new adaptive trail location to provide variety for the program users.
Once our trailer and fleet have been established, we will be providing free monthly group rides for participants along with the opportunity to go on private guided tours.
To help kick start this endeavor, we are arranging a 2 Day Pilot Program with the support of Lula Lake Land Trust. Come join!
Location: Lula Lake Core Preserve on July 13th and Durham Mine Trails on July 14th.
Registration:
Saturday 7/13 Athlete Registration
Sunday 7/14 Athlete Registration