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PARALYMPIC ADACEMY
As an official Paralympic Sport Club, the National Ability Center is proud of its partnership with U.S. Paralympics, a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee, to help athletes with physical disabilities reach their dream of Paralympic excellence. |
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The 2009 Utah Paralympic Academy was filled with new opportunities for individuals looking to try Paralympic sports. This year we added swimming and tennis to the slate of activities for the first time! We also had archery and cycling outside with great spring time weather. Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation hosted the quad rugby and wheelchair basketball activities, as well. The Utah Tennis Association also brought in some equipment for adaptive tennis. The entire day of events was free of cost, and was a lot of fun for everyone involved.
Oz Sanchez, who won both a gold and bronze medal in cycling at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, came to this year's Utah Paralympic Academy! Many individuals had the chance to meet Oz and hear his inspirational story. He also helped newcomers to the adaptive cycling world with tips and tricks that have helped him. Find out more about Oz here. Hopefully we'll be seeing Oz again this winter as he looks to conquer the slopes of Park City. We'll keep you posted on his next visit.
Greg Shaw, who recently returned from the Czech republic winning the IPC World Championship of Sled Hockey with Team USA, brought his gold medal for people to see. He also played some quad rugby and wheelchair basketball throughout the day. Greg was featured on KSL for his inspirational story, and you can watch it here.
Tim Ostler started playing quad rugby only a couple of years ago, and he just made the USA Quad Rugby Team. Tim took the time to show this years visitors some of the training exercises he goes through, and he helped everyone learn some of the rules to this high-speed, high-impact game.
Former apache helicopter pilot Joe Johnson came to the Paralympic Academy as he is getting ready for a 1500-mile ride around the state of Utah. Joe will be making his way around the state through the month of August and will end his ride the week of the Summit Challenge (Sept. 5th).
Ryan Nelson from Brighton High School in Salt Lake City was part of the tennis lessons being taught with the Paralympic Academy, as well. Ryan was recently named to the Junior World Cup Team and will represent the USA in England for the British Open. He is currently ranked as the number five junior wheelchair tennis player in the nation.
What is the Paralympic Academy?
The Paralympic Academy, a program of U.S. Paralympics, has chosen the National Ability Center to be one of its state partners in Utah. The Paralympic Academy is an outreach program created to recognize and inspire children with physical disabilities to participate in sports and recreational activities while providing parents and coaches the skill sets and equipment to support their children's involvement in more active lifestyles.
As a Paralympic Academy Sport Club, the National Ability Center offers Ability Awareness outreach programs in schools throughout the state. In addition, the Center hosts various Paralympic Academy special event sports programs throughout the state, in order to promote Paralympic sports year round.
Please visit http://www.usparalympics.org for more information. |
