What the Vermont Adaptive and Bart merger means for athletes and volunteers
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What the Vermont Adaptive and Bart merger means for athletes and volunteers
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports and the Bart Adaptive Sports Center have announced plans to merge. The merger aims to enhance access to sports and outdoor recreation for individuals with disabilities. Vermont Adaptive offers winter programs at Pico Mountain/Killington Resort, Sugarbush Resort, Bolton Valley Resort, Saskadena Six Ski Area and various locations throughout the state during the summer and fall. Bartadaptive offers year-round opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in activities such as skiing, snowboarding and biking. Both organizations are members of Move United Sport, which will help ensure a smooth transition in operations, including insurance, structural systems and centralizing administration. in 2024, it served over 1,200 participants through 5,300 outings. Since 2017, its Veteran Ventures Program has provided more than 9,000 activities and 35 multi-day retreats to veterans and service members.
The merger aims to enhance access to sports and outdoor recreation for individuals with disabilities.
Bart Adaptive currently operates at Bromley Mountain, Stratton Mountain Resort and in the Manchester region. Vermont Adaptive offers winter programs at Pico Mountain/Killington Resort, Sugarbush Resort, Bolton Valley Resort, Saskadena Six Ski Area and various locations throughout the state during the summer and fall.
The merger is expected to be finalized by July 31. Once completed, Bart Adaptive will merge into Vermont Adaptive, with the latter continuing as the surviving organization. Programs, volunteering and participation will continue without interruption.
“We’re excited and looking forward to meeting and getting to know the Bart Adaptive community, its athletes and volunteers,” said Erin Fernandez, executive director at Vermont Adaptive. “We’re committed to maintaining the close-knit culture of Bart Adaptive and expanding opportunities for everyone. We work closely with our resort partners and are grateful for their support. Working with the staff at Bromley and Stratton will be no different. It will be a busy time in Southern Vermont!”
Founded in 2002, Bart Adaptive has provided year-round opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in activities such as skiing, snowboarding and biking. The organization offers over 600 winter lessons and 180 summer experiences annually, taught by approximately 250 trained volunteer instructors.
“This combination with Vermont Adaptive is exciting for our athletes, volunteers and mountain partners,” said Daniel Mon, Bart Adaptive board president. “Joining such a respected organization will allow us to bring the experience of outdoor sports to even more participants as we build on our rich legacy. I would like to thank Bart Adaptive’s current and past staff, volunteers and board members for their dedicated service.”
Bromley Mountain President and General Manager Josh Witkin expressed enthusiasm for the merger, stating that it aligns with Bromley Mountain’s mission to ensure everyone can experience the joy of the mountain environment.
Bart Adaptive added the Stratton Mountain location in 2018. The number of lessons offered at Stratton has nearly doubled since the 2022-2023 winter season, reaching nearly 200 winter adaptive lessons in 2024-2025.
“Our adaptive program has been growing each season thanks to the staff and volunteers of Bart Adaptive, and we look forward to welcoming Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports to Stratton Mountain with plans to add events and summer programs in the future,” said Director of Skier and Rider Services Devon Cavagnino. “This nationally recognized program builds on the tradition of providing access to winter mountain sports here at Stratton with our ideal teaching terrain and a convenient location for registration. We are excited to join the network of Vermont Adaptive locations across Vermont.”
Vermont Adaptive, founded in 1987, is the largest year-round adaptive sports organization in the East. In 2024, it served over 1,200 participants through 5,300 outings. Since 2017, its Veteran Ventures Program has provided more than 9,000 activities and 35 multi-day retreats to veterans and service members.
Both organizations are members of Move United Sport, which will help ensure a smooth transition in operations, including insurance, structural systems and centralizing administration.
More information will be available at vermontadaptive.org as the merger progresses.
This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.