Wright State to host regional Adventure Summit

The Adventure Summit features a talk by snowboarder Amy Purdy on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.

Forty local and nationally known speakers, including paralympian Amy Purdy, 50 exhibitors and canoe battleship are just a few of the highlights at the Adventure Summit at Wright State.

The Adventure Summit takes place Friday, Feb. 12, from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Wright State’s Student Union. The event is free and open to the public.

The Adventure Summit represents a 10-year partnership between Five River MetroParks and Wright State.

“This event is for the adventurers who are looking to ignite a spark for adventure and the dreamers who may never climb Mount Everest but want to be close to someone who did,” said Brent Anslinger, outdoor recreation manager for Five Rivers MetroParks, a regional public park system.

The Adventure Summit features a talk by Amy Purdy, who won a bronze medal in snowboarding in the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, was runner-up on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2014 and co-founded Adaptive Action Sports, a nonprofit organization dedicated to introducing people with physical challenges to action sports.

She will discuss “Living Beyond Limits” on Friday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Apollo Room. It will be preceded by a public reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Union’s Endeavour Room.

Purdy’s talk is part of Wright State’s Presidential Lecture Series, which is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Her lecture is co-sponsored with Wright State’s Office of Disability Services.

Purdy will also participate in a panel discussion on “Access to Adventure” on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 10 a.m. in the Apollo Room.

You can try Wright State’s climbing wall in the Student Union during the Adventure Summit.

Luke “Strider” Jordan, a long-distance trail adventurer, will discuss “A Thru Hike of the North Country Trail” on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the Apollo Room.

The North Country trail stretches from New York to North Dakota and travels past Wright State on Kauffman Road. Wright State is not only on the North Country Trail; it is also on the 1,400-mile Buckeye Trail and on the largest interconnected bike system in the country.

In addition, local and national speakers will give presentations on topics such as caving and field research, alpine hiking, canyoneering, scuba diving, yoga, backpacking and running a marathon in Antarctica. The Department of Emergency Medicine in Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine will give several medical-related presentations throughout Saturday.

Students, staff, faculty and visitors may sign up for an indoor triathlon, bouldering competition and canoe battleship. The triathlon is free for the Wright State community, but the bouldering competition has a fee.

“We host the Adventure Summit every other year,” said Anslinger. “The outdoor community looks here to tell their stories. … People will learn something, go do it and come back to present. That’s what this event is all about.”

Approximately 8,000 attend the Adventure Summit, and more than 100 volunteers help to make it a success.

“I just love having the large outdoor recreation community come together. … It’s a one-stop-shop for adventure,” said Amy Anslinger, assistant director of outdoor recreation at Wright State. “This event has it all.”

A complete schedule of events is available at theadventuresummit.com/schedule, or connect with the Adventure Summit on Facebook.