A downhill battle
Blind/autistic youth will compete in Wintergreen skiing competition
By Katherine Houstoun CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Twenty-year-old Matt Annecchini stretches while his dad, Mike, looks on during a ski practice last week.

Standing at the top of a mountain can be daunting for any first-time skier. Now, imagine that first-time skier standing at the top of a mountain with a blindfold over his eyes. Welcome to the life of Chesterfield resident Matt Annecchini.

Matt, 20, is blind and autistic, but he hasn't let that get in the way of his skiing. The Matoaca High School senior will enter his fifth Special Olympics Virginia Alpine Skiing Championships at Wintergreen Resort next week.

A multi-sport athlete, Matt participates in a wide variety of activities, including swimming, basketball, ice skating, bowling, choir and the marching band, often assisted by one or both of his parents. While both Sue and Mike Annecchini have become accustomed to unorthodox approaches to activities - they swim and skate backwards to guide Matt along - skiing represented a new challenge for the family.

"I had only been on the slopes four times before I started skiing with Matt, so it's been a real adventure," said Mike, who works as a new product development engineer at Hill Phoenix. "We just got out there and tried it out. Most of the events for Matt are like that: we see how it goes and if we can adapt it."

They started out with a simple rope tied around Matt's waist; Matt would glide down the hill in front of Mike, who would try to keep them from going too fast with a snow-plow position. Eventually, Sue fashioned a chest harness to connect the two, enabling Mike to maintain better control of Matt.

"Now, in case the reins come out of my hands, they're still attached to my belt," explained Mike.

These days, Matt is skiing at the intermediate level and almost entirely by vocal commands. Perhaps most importantly, he seems to really enjoy it.

"It's a lot of fun," said Mike. "He has a lot of friends who go to events and practices. He's definitely been more vocal [since he started participating in Special Olympics Virginia sports], and he's able to get out and enjoy life a little bit."

Participants in the Alpine Skiing Championships spend eight weeks preparing for the event, both in dry land exercises - calisthenics and stretches to keep the athletes in shape - and occasional ski practices, made possible by Wintergreen Resort offering free ski days to Special Olympics skiers. More than 125 athletes will take part in this year's slalom and giant slalom downhill events at the resort, which has hosted the event since 1978.

Rick Jeffrey, the president of Special Olympics Virginia, calls the Wintergreen events a "great model for the whole organization."

"Wintergreen is the real story of attitudinal change that we are trying to affect in people," said Jeffrey, who has been with Special Olympics Virginia for 22 years. "As much as we are a sports program, the sport is a vehicle for us to bring people together. We want our skiers to be better skiers...but what we really want is for everyone to believe [the athletes] can do more than they think they can. If the attitude changes, then we become more inclusive as a society."

Jeffrey views Matt as an "amazing" example of overcoming obstacles.

"If you want to have a genuinely moving experience, follow Matt Annecchini for a day," he said. "He wakes up in the morning and opens up his eyes, and he's blind and mentally disabled, and that's before he even gets out of his bed. He is a profile in courage."

Spectators are invited to attend the Alpine Skiing Championship events, which take place 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 28 and 9 a.m. to 1:30 on Jan. 29. People interested in volunteering at any of the Special Olympics Virginia events should visit www.specialolympicsva.org.