June 2024 Meeting

Meeting Date
  • Opening quotation 
    • “I want to see a feisty group of disabled people around the world… if you don’t respect yourself and if you don’t demand what you believe in for yourself, you’re not gonna get it.”- Judy Heumann
  • Agenda 
    • Invited Guest:  Erik Robeznieks - Assistant Director, University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness 
      • Overview of Adaptive Sports & Fitness Program   
        • Benefits of the program
        • How the community can help with engagement and awareness
    • “Examining the Landscape…”
      • Definition of adaptive sports: Also known as parasports, adaptive sports are competitive or recreational sports for people with and without disabilities. Adaptive sports use modifications of rules of equipment that allows for equitable participation and sport by people with disabilities. 
        • Examples: wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, goalball, soccer, para-swimming, para-athletics, etc.
        • “Creates a mechanism so everyone can enjoy sport.”
      • Key issues
        • Equity
          • Availability of programs and distribution of programs
            • On average there are about 45,000 people for every program. If you have a disability this increases to about 138,000 people for every program. 
          • Lack of competitive opportunities for adaptive sports participants beyond youth. This includes lack of opportunities and scholarships available to adaptive sports participants. This also come with socioeconomic barriers of potentially having to move out of state and pay out of state tuition to be involved in these competitive opportunities. 
        • Benefits of sport
          • Sport has great positive outcomes for people that participate and are involved in sport at all levels. 
          • Collegiate adaptive sport can encourage and strengthen the number of people getting a higher education. 
          • Sport is a fundamental experience of life. 
        • Employment statistics
          • As reported in a ESPNY study conducted in 2017 many successful business professionals attribute some of their success to their participation in sport at the collegiate level.
      • Collegiate adaptive sports history
        • After WWII there was a federal bill that mandated veterans with disabilities could receive education and rehabilitative training.
        • 1948- Dr. Timothy Nugent was hired as Director for the first university program in the US for students with disabilities at the University of Illinois. In this position created the first collegiate adaptive sport program in history. At the time the University of Illinois Wheelchair basketball team was known as the U of I GiZZ Kids. He went on to found the National wheelchair basketball Associate in 1949. 
        • 1949- Dr. Nugent created the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.
        • 1956- The University of Illinois created the first wheelchair track program. 
        • 1969- Southwest Minnesota State University creates a wheelchair basketball program.
        • 1973- Rehabilitation Act
          • Prohibits discrimination based on disability in any federally funded education program or activity.
          • Equitable modification of rules or equipment.
            • Leads to the question of creating advantages and disadvantages for others. 
        • 1976- The creation of the University of Texas Arlington collegiate adaptive sport program.
          • “FreeWheelers” team coached by Jim Hayes.
          • First wheelchair basketball team to be invited to the whitehouse. 
          • To build a program you need student athletes. Important to have community facing aspects to draw in interested individuals. 
          • Allows us to look into institutional aspects of wellbeing.
        • 1980- Creation of Edinboro University Wheelchair Basketball Program that was open to anyone that wanted to try the game.
        • 1985- Creation of University of Arizona Adaptive Athletics Program.
          • Has a large and diverse range of adaptive sports offered. 
          • They have University of Arizona Funding and matched funding from the State Department.
        • 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
          • Title 2- exclusion by a public entity.
          • Title 3- Public accommodation
          • Sport participation benefits people at the individual level. These benefits allow us to understand why participation in sport is important. 
        • 2001- Creation of Collegiate Wheelchair nationals. 
        • 2003- Creation of Alabama Adapted Athletics
          • Powerhouse program in adaptive sport today
        • 2013- Dear Colleague Letter
          • Provides outline for integrating adaptive sport within the collegiate space. We do not need to create separate opportunities but should adapt current infrastructure to ensure all are included.
        • 2016- ECAC Inclusive Sport Initiative
          • Principles of Sport Inclusion:
          • Defines ways to include athletes with disabilities without altering the sport or creating advantages or disadvantages.
          • Principle 1: The inclusion of athletes do not require any modifications.
            • Allowing  athletes without modifications to compete
              • Examples: Shaquem Griffin and Anthony Robles.
          • Principle 2: Modification of rules or policies to make them more equitable for people with disabilities but do not change the nature of the event. 
          • Principles 3: Discusses the addition of events or heats alongside existing sports.
          • Principle 4: Inclusion and addition of new teams and leagues.
        • 2018/2019- Rise of University of Michigan adaptive sports and fitness.
        • 2019- Merger of US olympic and paralympic committee
        • 2023- First collegiate national championships for wheelchair track at Drake Relays. The first time ever that wheelchair track was being included within a NCAA event.
        • 2024- First official integration of wheelchair track and wheelchair tennis at NCAA national championships.
      • Adaptive sports and fitness at U of M
        • Recognizing that if we were to build a successful program we need to acknowledge the various gaps within the larger environment that exists when it comes to people with disabilities accessing sport and recreation.
        • Must engage with stakeholders and community partners. 
        • Offerings:
          • Adaptive sports student group
            • A group run by students in which they engage in pursuits that are geared towards growing adaptive sport participation, interest, awareness, and engagement among the student body.
          • Adaptive sports research consortium
            • Focuses on science and research that supports the growth of adaptive sport.
          • Adaptive Sports and Inclusive Recreation Initiative (ASIRI)
            •  An initiative that aims to imbed adaptive sport into the physical education curriculum within Michigan public schools.
          • Prescription to Play
            • Involvement of healthcare providers in order to connect with more people who can benefit from the programs.
          • Recreational drop-in opportunities
      • Promotion of upcoming event
        • Inaugural adaptive track and field meet at the University of Michigan
          • Saturday June 29th at the U of M Track and Field Stadium
          • Inclusive of para track athletes, athletes with intellectual disabilities, and athletes without disabilities. 
          • Purpose to demonstrate that sports can be delivered inclusively and competitively. 
          • For more information visit: https://rsvp.umich.edu/event/24MillerFamilyOpen/summary 
      • Future implications:
        • Need for Research is needed. 
        • This is not an end point for growing adaptive sports.
    • Questions and comments:
      • I’m now wondering if the ways in which sports push careers are essentially ableist?
        • Development of self-efficacy is an important aspect of sport.An important part of developing self efficacy is the contribution self efficacy has to improve one’s adaptability. Hopefully adaptability takes place within the organization itself as well. But hopefully it also takes place at an interpersonal level.
        • Comment from attendee: I can personally attest to developing self-efficacy in adapted athletics. Coach Jessica was particularly encouraging for me to keep coming back and I eventually made my first basket (in my life) last summer.
      • My question comes from an area I am not knowledgeable about.  I believe students earn "points" for attending sports events. I am not sure if that is all events or just football/basketball, etc. If it is every sport, do adaptive sports events also earn points? (Priority points for seating
        • Adaptive sports is currently not included in this.
      • btw are Invictus Games related to this initiative?
        • Adaptive E-sports as well?
      • Anything in sports for older humans? Can any of these policies and support points be adapted to people 50+? 60-70+ (not necessarily competitive sports)?
      • I really appreciate the drop-in availability at U-M Adaptive Sports and Fitness. It has truly helped me recenter myself into athletics after being told I was "too weak" to participate in competitive sports and PE as a child and adolescent.
      • Do adaptive sports cover people with chronic issues such as back and knee issues?
        • Yes
        • “Would be happy to talk more about this. The goal is to make sure everyone has access to sport and fitness.”- Feranmi Okanlami
  • Announcements
    • Anything to share with the Council?