Tagged with: athletes awareness disability hero life sports As a person with a physical disability I am, at times, approached by people and told that I am a very courageous person. Now, we can talk for hours on what this really means. We can talk and try to understand what the person was really trying to say. Recently, ESPN made an effort to define what courage means to them with an award. Not just any award but the one named after Arthur Ashe.
Tagged with: accessible athletes awareness Cerebral Palsy children disability exercise health inclusion kids life Physical Activity recreation sport wheelchair On April 17-18, we hosted an event at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, that we call Ability Olympics with the mission of showing how everyone can be an athlete. I work with Dr. Tom Moran on this event (he does weekly programming for youth with disabilities to stay physically active), and our goal has been simple: provide sport opportunities to people with disabilities because we did not have those opportunities growing up.
Tagged with: athletes disability exercise health inclusion Physical Activity sport wheelchair When we think of adaptive sports, also known as sports for people with disabilities, we usually think of wheelchair basketball, which not only has an international following, it’s also a Paralympic sport. However, basketball is not the only adaptive sport out there; there is also wheelchair rugby, Goalball for the visually impaired, cycling, and tennis, all of which are also Paralympic events.
Tagged with: assistive technology athletes disability exercise health inclusion Physical Activity sport In a recent USA Today article the US surgeon general states that he will soon make a call to action for people to be walking. This of course includes all people even those with limb loss. More importantly all people with disabilities.
Tagged with: athletes disability hero life sport Two years ago was not that long ago. 730 days to be exact. Yet for some, two years can be a lifetime ago. For others it can be a life-changing moment. This was the case for Rebekah Gregory.
Tagged with: athletes awareness disability fitness life Physical Activity sport wheelchair On April 2-4 2015, I participate at the United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA) National Championship tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. My competitive juice starts to flow as I head to this event. As I prepared for my 19th appearance, I was hoping to take away something more important than an award or a trophy. What I got instead was the reality that there is something bigger than this event, something that all people with a disability should experience at one time in their life.
Tagged with: athletes awareness Cerebral Palsy disability sport This past week a controversy was raised in regards to Ian Silverman being classed out of Paralympic swimming by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Many questions have been raised about how this could happen? How terrible? What now? What must not be forgotten is the important role that classification plays in all Paralympic sports, especially swimming.
Tagged with: athletes awareness disability inclusion life Physical Activity sport wheelchair
I know not everyone is a fan of the National Basketball Association (NBA). I know there are many us who prefer wheelchair basketball and other activities. However if you did not get the opportunity to enjoy this weekend’s NBA All-Star break then you really missed a treat. You missed a unique opportunity to watch celebrities, basketball skills, celebrations and people with disabilities all having a few laughs. What, people with disabilities?
Tagged with: ADA athletes coach disability education inclusion life programs sport wheelchair Last week, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) adopted what it called “an inclusive sport strategy” that will provide opportunities for student-athletes with disabilities to compete in intercollegiate sports. The ECAC member institutions compete in Division I, II, and III levels of college sports.
