March 13, 2020

Dear Paradox Sports Community,

We hope this email finds you and your family doing well.  The international health crisis that is currently underway has had significant impact and the health of our community is a priority.  As such, we are following along with developments with COVID-19.  As an organization that delivers trips and trainings across the country, we are acutely aware of the impact this development is having on all communities across the country and we will monitor and follow CDC guidelines and recommendations as we enter our spring programming season.

Although we do not have any scheduled trip cancellations at this time, we will be sure and make a conservative decision in regards to community health. We will be assessing our spring trips (May) and provide a cancellation notice as soon as possible.

In regards to our Adaptive Climbing Initiative courses, due to the number delivered and geographical variation, we will be evaluating each program on a case by case basis. We will continue to communicate with registered participants and provide timely updates in regards to our scheduled courses.

We appreciate everyone’s understanding and if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at dave@paradoxsports.org

Sincerely,

Dave Elmore
Executive Director

UPDATE: March 30, 2020

Dear Paradox Sports Community,

Over the past few weeks I have received a number of emails from organizations I support and admire.  Each with their own message encouraging me to hold true to my values, vision and more importantly, community.  And, given how crazy things are right now and how uncertain, these maxims couldn’t be more important.  For me, I am focusing on controlling that which I can actually control.  Social distancing, hand-washing, binge-watching, house projecting… you get the picture.  I believe community is paramount in times of adversity and have been enjoying connecting with friends and family in creative ways.

I am reminded of Jean Houston’s great quote in the opening of the climbing documentary Fine Lines, “human connections are deeply nurtured in the field of shared story.”  As an organization, we will be generating interesting, engaging and authentic content to stay connected with our community.  Sharing stories, telling stories and listening to others.  This story sharing helps us remain grounded in what we know and love.  Adventure, climbing, and community.

Paradox Sports is more focused than ever on our mission, vision and values.  Are times tough?  Absolutely.  We are a small non-profit and big events like this impact us in every way imaginable.  We have cancelled all spring programming, including our industry leading adaptive climbing initiative courses and our national trips.  Our courses help increase access and our trips have proven to be the heart and soul of the community-a time to gather, celebrate, climb and strengthen our connections.  And, although we have had to cancel these programs, our resilient staff, our dedicated board of directors and our kick-ass community remain.  We are constantly re-evaluating how to protect what is most valuable to our community.  Identifying our core value and figuring out how to pivot and ultimately protect it.  We are a community who thrive on adapting.  We climb, we adapt. Now? We wake up, we adapt.  However you are adapting day in and day out, we encourage you all to stay true to your vision, values and community.  Share stories and connect in these times of isolation.

We look forward to seeing you all in the near future.  That is, if we all do our part.  During these uncertain times we must support each other from a distance.  Reach out to a friend, a family member and know that the Paradox Sports team is thinking of you.

Sincerely,

Dave Elmore
Executive Director

UPDATE: May 1, 2020

Dear Paradox Sports Community,

We now live in a world drastically different from the one we knew at the beginning of this year.  So much has changed, yet one thing remains the same – the mission of Paradox Sports and the impact we strive to have in the world.  Although our transformational programs are on hold, we remain committed to building community.  It is this community that supported us this last year in achieving so much.

On March 31, we wrapped up our fiscal year, able to reflect on an incredible twelve months of successful program delivery.  We impacted more than 500 people through 1574 adaptive climbing experiences.  Through the #AdaptiveClimbingInitiative and quarterly volunteer trainings, we provided 300+ hours of training to over 260 volunteers and climbing facilitators.  Before COVID-19 hit, we were able to deliver 16 ACI Courses and all 5 of our National Trips.  We are proud of our impact and look forward to returning to a world where we can continue to deliver amazing programs, trainings and gather as a community.

As we pivot during this pandemic, our staff continue to stay focused on our mission to transform lives and communities through adaptive climbing opportunities that defy convention.  Navigating our new world order, we recognize that everyone has been impacted at some level and it will take time to return to normal.  We have been creating some great digital content, connecting local communities, engaging in shared storytelling, reaching out to our community members and partners.  As well, we are supporting relief efforts as best we can.  More importantly, we have been taking steps to ensure that Paradox Sports is here at the end of all of this, in order to continue serving our adaptive athletes. 

Earlier this month we cancelled or postponed all of our spring national trips and Adaptive Climbing Initiative courses.  We cancelled all local programs and have since had to pause our efforts of building out national communities as we had hoped.  Our new fiscal year unfortunately coincided with the start of the COVID-19 crisis and has shaken our budget and ambitious plans for the coming year.  Naturally, our corporate and individual partners who provide vital financial support, have been significantly impacted and the money we rely on has been redirected.  As much as we tried to avoid it, we’ve had to reduce staffing hours in order to keep our books balanced.  We are making difficult decisions that we believe ultimately reflect an investment in our future.  All this to say, the impact is real and we need your support.

We recognize there are organizations in more dire need – frontline organizations that are more readily fighting this pandemic.  We certainly encourage supporting these organizations.  We ask that you also consider a small monthly gift, as an investment in the future of Paradox Sports.  Your monthly support as an Adaptive Advocate can have a HUGE impact on our ability to continue delivering on our mission.

We thank you for your understanding and support as we navigate these uncertain times.  Stay healthy, and we hope to climb with you again soon.

Sincerely,

Dave Elmore
Executive Director