Bill Bowness
2009
Recreation/Development | 2015
Hometown: Truckee, California
School Name: Achieve Tahoe
Recently graduated from high school and in the process of moving to Montana, Bill was involved in a car accident that left him with a Lumbar/Thoracic spinal cord injury. Having led a very active lifestyle prior to his injury, he was exposed to numerous sports and recreation opportunities during the rehabilitation process. It was at this point that Bill’s career choice changed and he attended Cal State University-Chico and earned dual degrees in Recreational Therapy and Adapted Physical Education.
Bill became involved in competitive skiing and was named to the
U.S. Disabled Ski Team from 1992 to 1997. He competed in the 1994 Winter Paralympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway in the Downhill, Slalom and Super-G, winning a silver and two bronze medals. On the recreational side, Bill served as the Technical Director at Achieve Tahoe, formerly Disabled Sports Far West. He is a lifetime member of the PSIA-AASI, and formerly represented Adaptive Skiing on the national team.
Bill Bowness was also a nine-time world champion and six-time world record holder in Water Sit-Skiing. As a member of the U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team he won seven U.S. national overall titles, and was
manager of the gold medal-winning U.S. Disabled Water Ski Team in 2009. As the Technical Director at Achieve Tahoe and a PSIA certified ski instructor, Bill dedicated his life to opening doors for others with physical disabilities to the joys and benefits of skiing.
