En garde! Wield a sword, carry a racquet, or hurl a javelin at the next North Texas sport clinic.

UTA Links Sport/Disability
The University of Texas at Arlington Department of Student Affairs and Campus Recreation has been busy holding Paralympic sport clinics to introduce athletes with disabilities and the nondisabled to the world of international sport competition.

With clinics led by experienced coaches and athletes, the events introduce young and old alike to fencing, track and field events, soccer for the blind, wheelchair tennis, competitive swimming, and more.

Paralympic Sport Clinics
“We host Paralympic sport clinics to introduce the community to a variety of Paralympic sports and to help people with disabilities who are interested in learning more about sport find local outlets for sport and recreation participation,” Doug Garner, head of the program, says. “We also host an adapted intramural program on campus for our students with disabilities and invite people from the community with disabilities to participate.”

This year, fencing was offered for the first time during an April event that featured soccer for the blind.

Turnout was a staggering 25 students, with one individual coming all the way from Keller and another from TWU “just to have a good time,” states Garner. “Players that could see would wear blindfolds and could only use their ears to hear where the ball filled with bells was going.  This was UTA's first time to host such an event, and the experience was like no other.”

Garner added that the event gave the staff and organizers even more ideas for intramural clinics.

Olympic Opportunity Grant Funding
In 2009, Paralympic Sport Arlington was one of 39 organizations nationwide to receive a portion of $500,000 in Olympic Opportunity Fund Grants.

Coach Garner tells Disaboom that he is excited to introduce 21-year-old R. John McCullough, who has accepted an offer to be a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado to train as a swimmer for the 2012 London Paralympics.

The coach’s excitement about Paralympic Sport Arlington expresses great anticipation:
“And the story grows!”

Check here for upcoming clinics.

Find out more about the International Paralympics Committee.