Adaptive Athletics in a University Setting: Exploring Models to Support Adaptive and Wheelchair Sports Programs on Campus View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Amanda Kraus,  Peter Hughes  

This interactive workshop explores models to support adaptive and wheelchair sport on college and university campuses. We start with sharing University of Arizona’s (UArizona) model, a 40-year old program that supports eight competitive adaptive and wheelchair sports teams. The largest in the US, this program has produced over 30 Paralympians, recruits nationally and internationally, and also provides academic supports to student athletes as well as an adaptive training center. Recently, UArizona became a site for the Global Sports Mentoring Program and hosted a professor of Health and Human Performance at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Dr. Tejero is a wheelchair basketball coach, with both practical and academic interest in the implications of adaptive sport. Together, staff and faculty and both institutions remain connected to better understand the impacts of adaptive sport, to raise awareness and ultimately grow opportunities for disabled athletes around the world. This workshop is hosted by University of Arizona and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and contextualizes the practical implications with academic research on wheelchair and adaptive sport. We consider both university models and explore specifically how to establish and administer programs for disabled athletes, with attention to recruitment and pipeline issues, and developing university support.