Where do Paralympians come from? Where do they train, and how does a young child with a disability get involved? What does it mean to be a Paralympian?
US Paralympics may have the answer with their new three-tier system for inspiring young athletes and coaches.
Exposure to Paralympics
The system begins with state, national, and then international exposure to Paralympic competition for athletes with physical disabilities. There are 25 young athletes and 12 coaches that made it to the third tier in 2008. These athletes, parents, and coaches flew halfway around the world with no cost to them to experience the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.
Paralympic Academy for Children with Disabilities
Many local areas have joined the effort to help create Paralympians.
In Utah, home of the 2002 Paralympics, we have organized two Paralympic Academy programs, which have brought Paralympic Sport to young athletes with disabilities in the last year. The National Ability Center and Salt Lake County Adaptive Recreation have hosted the Paralympic Academies to display 10 different Paralympic Sports and expose these young athletes to elite sport for individuals with disabilities.
Sled Hockey and Archery have been the favorites for these youngsters so far. The smiles on the faces of the Paralympic hopefuls and the tears rolling down their parents’ cheeks are proof enough that the program is working.
Getting involved requires locating or creating a Paralympic Sport in your area. Then watch for when US Paralympics hosts another Paralympic Academy contest and have your students write an essay on their experiences and send them to US Paralympics. They will then judge the essays and invite coaches and athletes from your area to participate in National and International events. Many of these youngsters and parents will meet productive adults with similar disabilities for the first time.
Meeting the Paralympians
During the events in Utah, parents were made aware of the benefits of participating in sports and the available funding organizations for equipment. They witnessed the excitement on their children’s faces when, for the first time, they had the opportunity to meet an adult sports star whose physical abilities are similar to their own. Such an experience can have a far greater impact on these youngsters than meeting Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or any number of popular able-bodied sports icons.
The benefits of getting youth with disabilities involved in sport goes beyond improving self-esteem, increased health, peer relationships, and higher qualities of life. Youth who make it to the elite level of sport and compete in the Paralympics can also benefit from college scholarships, sponsorships, and elevated status in their communities. The USOC offers $5,000 college scholarships to athletes with and without disabilities who participate in the Olympic or Paralympic games. When writing their college entrance exams, it also is extremely helpful to share these experiences.
Children with disabilities who participate in Paralympic Academies are inspired to achieve and often propelled into new, positive directions in life. For those who make it to the elite level of Paralympic Sport, many benefits await; for those who don’t, just the memories of when they played wheelchair basketball, soccer, skied, collided, or hung out with their sports champion peers is worth all the effort.
For more information, go to http://www.usparalympics.org/ or http://www.paralympic.org/
Get out and play!
