At the Idaho Outdoor Fieldhouse, opportunities and resources come together to create a community for military folks and athletes with disabilities to connect through sports and enjoy the state’s great outdoors.  

Created and supported by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, the fieldhouse is home to Mission43—serving military members and their spouses—and the Idaho office of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF-Idaho), serving Idaho’s athletes with disabilities. 

“It’s a welcoming facility and it’s accessible to everyone. Folks are feeling ownership over it,” said Wilson Dippo, Program Manager for CAF-Idaho. 

The fieldhouse provides a central location for adaptive sports athletes to meet, train, store and maintain their equipment, and to participate in CAF-Idaho programs. Athletes can also find adaptive fitness and strength programs, a climbing wall, a pool, and a basketball court. 

“Nobody is a burden. Folks can be part of all of it,” Dippo said.

Walking through the facility, it’s clear that welcoming everyone is a driving force of the work at the fieldhouse. CJ Brown, the fieldhouse’s creator of first impressions—and a CAF athlete—wants everyone who comes into the fieldhouse to feel the same support and opportunities that he experienced with CAF.

Through CAF, Brown has been able to get equipment for a variety of sports, from wheelchair rugby to mountain biking. He has also tried several of CAF’s two programs: Basecamp and APEX adventures. He has tried nordic skiing, fly fishing, rafting, and rock climbing. 

CAF-Idaho functions in the same way as the national organization, Dippo said, providing annual grants to eligible athletes for sports equipment—including adaptive mountain bikes and skis—and for coaching, traveling, and other expenses. The Basecamp and APEX programs help athletes learn about a sport and experience the outdoors. 

The Basecamp program lasts from four to eight weeks and focuses on one sport only. “We go from the sport’s most basics, covering every step along the way,” Dippo explained. 

The Apex Adventures are usually three-day experiences that include activities like mountain biking in the spring, water sports in the summer, and rock climbing in Idaho’s City of Rocks in the fall. All events can accommodate dozens of participants—with no experience required. Around 70 people attended last year’s mountain biking weekend, Dippo said. 

To qualify for CAF-Idaho programs, athletes must be Idaho residents living with a permanent physical disability (including kids). The activities require athletes to participate independently, so people with certain impairments—such as cognitive disabilities—do not qualify for the CAF programs. The national CAF website outlines detailed eligibility requirements.

Brown believes that adaptive sports are “like therapy” and that the fieldhouse is an ideal place to learn, connect, make friends, and meet people. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be here,” he said. 

And after so many experiences, he now gives back to the community through mentorships and advocacy. “It is a gift to help others do it. We are here to help,” he said.  

The Idaho Outdoor Fieldhouse is located at 3179 E. Barber Valley Drive in Boise. For more information, visit https://www.idahofieldhouse.org.