Dec 11, 2007 8:00 AM

Sharing her love for fitness and fun

Ask Jamie Hoffman what she does for a living and she’ll tell you, "I get paid to play." And to make sure everyone else gets to play, too, regardless of his or her level of ability.

Hoffman directs UCLA’s Adaptive Recreation Program, which aims to bring fun and fitness to those with disabilities — from wheelchair users to those with sight, speech and hearing impairments. Potential participants include the 700 or so students registered with UCLA’s Office for Students with Disabilities, as well as faculty, staff and the community beyond UCLA. The program also serves those with developmental disabilities, such as the 16 students in UCLA’s Pathway program, who have been helped to feel welcome in everything from Wooden Center dance classes to games on the tennis courts.

Since its launch early this year, Adaptive Recreation has offered kayaking, sailing, swimming and bicycling, and has future plans for wheelchair sports like basketball, tennis and rugby, along with surfing.

"People with disabilities can do all these things," said Hoffman, who has an undergraduate degree in therapeutic recreation and a master’s degree in recreation and sports management. "We just need to figure out a way."

Hoffman can get very hands-on in figuring out a way. For adaptive kayaking, for instance, she purchased wood, PVC piping and duct tape and — following a colleague’s design plan — constructed adaptations that enable those with limited upper body strength, mobility and hand function to sit in a kayak and paddle. Participants ranging from a 6-year-old autistic child to an 80-year-old man who’d had a stroke launched their vessels at the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center this fall.

"It was a beautiful thing to see," Hoffman said. "People left their wheelchairs on the dock and got out on the water to play."

Hoffman also has her hands full forging collaborations within the university and with organizations like the VA Hospital, recruiting and training volunteers and fundraising for equipment like basketball wheelchairs and hand-pedaled bicycles, which can be quite expensive.

Hoffman grew up experiencing physical activity as one of life’s greatest pleasures. She spent her childhood swimming, skiing and more, with parents who are also recreation professionals — her father runs golf communities and her mother has managed aquatics programs.

"I decided that this was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life and share with others," she said. Recreation is so much fun for her, in fact, that she surfs for an hour or two most mornings before coming to work. She’s also a frequent volunteer in fitness and sports programs. This winter she’s teaching adaptive skiing in Big Bear.

"I love seeing people who felt they couldn’t do it succeed in doing it," Hoffman said. "I recently took a woman out bicycling who has multiple sclerosis, who hadn’t biked in 40 years. And to see her out on the bike was just amazing. She had a blast. That’s what it’s all about."

For details or to volunteer, e-mail Hoffman at jhoffman@recreation.ucla.edu. Also, visit www.recreation.ucla.edu/adaptiverec.

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