Children Surviving Cancer Join Hundreds of Skiers With Disabilites At The Hartford Ski Spectacular in Colorado.

News Editors/Lifestyle and Sports Writers 

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2000

Participants From Across the Nation Will Learn Rehabilitative Powers

of Recreation; Ted Kennedy, Jr. and the Nation's Top Ski Instructors

Join More Than 700 At Largest Family Winter Sports Event

for Skiers With Disabilities

Media Note: B-Roll of and interviews with children surviving cancer available. Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA) will arrange interviews with event participants and organizers on-site at the event or via telephone. Event b-roll -- including custom footage of participants local to your market -- will also be available. For more information and requests for b-roll of specific participants, please call the events' Media Operations room at 970/453-4239.

Children from around the nation who are permanently disabled from cancer are joining more than 700 skiers with disabilities and their families for The Hartford Ski Spectacular at Breckenridge Ski Resort. The seven children are attending as special guests of Disabled Sports USA, coordinators of the event, the largest winter sports festival for people living with physical disabilities. Designed to restore confidence and dignity that empowers people with disabilities to live active, productive, independent lives, The Hartford Ski Spectacular encourages its participants to learn or learn again how to ski, a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime. Sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group and other sponsors, it runs through December 9 from its headquarters at Beaver Run Resort.

"The past two years have certainly been challenging -- and ultimately, positive -- as my daugther has adjusted to her amputation. This trip to Colorado gives us the opportunity to do something entirely new together," said Julie Deasey of Island Lake, Ill., whose daughter Lynn, 9, is attending The Hartford Ski Spectacular as a special guest. "It's going to be fantastic for Lynn to see all of the role models -- these older, athletic children and adults with disabilities -- who can show her exactly what she is capable of doing."

In addition to Deasey, this year's special guests include: Michael Bradley, 13, Katy, Tex.; Pat Callahan, 14, Lorain, Ohio; Ashly Duncan, 16, Peach Bottom, Pa.; Erica Gannett, 16, Needham, Mass.; Edriss Tate, 10, Montclair, N.J.; and Craig Turgeon, 17, Sanford, Maine.

With this year's group of children surviving with cancer, The Hartford Ski Spectacular continues its longstanding tradition of inviting special guests who have been disabled as a result of a serious national or international problem that demands the public's attention. Last year the event welcomed a dozen kids injured in the 1999 Columbine shootings.

Ted Kennedy, Jr., a former elite downhill skier who won numerous medals in national competitions, will attend the event to ski with the special guests and take part in the Corporate Challenge team race on Saturday, Dec. 9. Kennedy himself lost a leg to cancer more than two decades ago and has been active in expanding the civil rights of people with disabilities through his work as an attorney and a lecturer.

"When I had cancer as a young child, sports played a huge part in my rehabilitation," said Kennedy. "I'm glad to be at The Hartford Ski Spectacular to share this positive experience with these young people who are facing challenges I faced."

"As the recent accomplishments of two-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong have shown, tremendous advances in bio-technology have enabled those with cancer not only to survive, but thrive," said Kirk Bauer, executive director of DS/USA, who himself lost his leg from a hand-grenade explosion in Vietnam. "But technology can only go so far. Thousands of our members have felt firsthand the power of sports in rehabilitation. We're pleased to sponsor this camp to show our seven special guests -- and hundreds of other people with disabilities that will participate in the event -- that sports and recreation rebuilds lives torn apart by disability."

The seven cancer survivors will join more than 700 participants for an array of rehabilitative ski programs, including: learn to ski and snowboard clinics, learn to race clinics, continuing education for ski instructors, and a US Skiing-sanctioned Giant Slalom race for advanced ski racers. As they continue on the road to the 2002 Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City, elite racers from the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, historically the world's top alpine squad, will visit the event to take part in the Giant Slalom.

"The Hartford is proud to be the title sponsor of this first-class event as well as a national corporate partner with Disabled Sports USA," said Lizabeth H. Zlatkus, executive vice president, Hartford Life, a subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group. "This is the seventh consecutive year we've been involved because it exemplifies our company's ability philosophy that people want to lead active, productive, independent lives."

In addition to The Hartford Financial Services Group, corporate sponsors of the event are United Airlines, WeMedia Inc., Breckenridge Ski Resort, Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center, Collection of Fine Properties, Ohio Willow Wood and Thrifty Car Rental. Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center is serving as host DS/USA chapter.

About The Hartford

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:HIG) is one of the nation's largest insurance and financial services operations. Hartford Life, a member of The Hartford Financial Services Group, offers through its subsidiaries a comprehensive portfolio of variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, life insurance coverages, group benefit and retirement plans, and institutional funding products. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.

About Disabled Sports USA

Founded in 1967 by disabled Vietnam veterans, Disabled Sports USA provides opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities to gain confidence and dignity through sports, recreation and educational programs. The organization is the nation's largest multi-sport, multi-disability organization and serves more than 60,000 people nationwide. A member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, DS/USA conducts regional, national and international training camps and competitions to prepare athletes for the Paralympic Games -- the international, Olympic-sanctioned competitions for athletes with physical disabilities. DS/USA also offers sports rehabilitation programs through its nationwide network of 80 community-based chapters. More information is available at www.dsusa.org.