BlazeSports.

A Model Program for Community-Based Adapted Sports

BlazeSports is making community-based sports for children and adults with physical disabilities a reality in Georgia. Wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, track and field, and swimming make up the program of this exciting U.S. Disabled Athletes Fund Inc. undertaking.

Imagine a world where children and adults with physical disabilities have the opportunity to revel in honest-to-goodness athletic competition and full access to a range of sports and recreation options similar to their non-disabled peers. Today in Georgia this ambitious vision is becoming a reality.

Throughout the state of Georgia, physical disabilities are no longer holding back children and adults eager to compete in swimming, track and field, wheelchair tennis, and wheelchair basketball. These avid athletes are learning, many for the first time, the exhilaration and challenge of developing athletic and social skills in the sports of their choice through BlazeSports, an ambitious, unprecedented partnership between U.S. Disabled Athletes Fund and the Georgia Recreation and Park Association and GRPA community recreation agency members.

"Many people might have thought we were foolish to put an entire summer on hold just to provide one child with a new experience, but we felt that the BlazeSports program was worth the gamble. What a payoff!" exclaims Graham Penniman recalling daughter Alyce's first BlazeSports camp experience. "Our daughter spent an entire week surrounded by other enthusiastic youths who consistently pushed themselves beyond previous limits. We owe a debt of gratitude to the entire staff and athletes who worked at that camp last summer."

"For me it was the first time I fully realized that disabled kids want and need competition as much as any other kid," says Steve Frederick, in describing his feelings about daughter Margaret's introduction to BlazeSports. "Many of the children were competing physically with other disabled athletes on a level playing field for the first time in their lives, and their pleasure was more than obvious. They were ecstatic."

But it takes special consideration to make such opportunities available. And that's where BlazeSports comes into play. Throughout Georgia - in Albany, Augusta, Athens, Atlanta, Macon, Marietta, Gainesville/Hall County, LaGrange/Troup County, Rome, Smyrna, and Savannah -- the BlazeSports program is off and running and making a profound positive impact on children and adults seeking opportunities to flex their muscles and spirits through keen athletic competition.

Designed as a statewide model in Georgia for eventual national replication, a key objective of the program is to demonstrate that adapted sports can be delivered through existing community structures and, largely, within existing recreation agency budgets.

But to make the programs successful, key elements are put in place from the beginning. These include committed community and recreation agency leadership, effective outreach to identify participants, training for community coaches in the selected adapted sports, and availability of adaptive equipment such as sports wheelchairs. An additional component adding excitement to the program is state competitions in which participants test and hone their athletic skills.

USDAF has stepped up to the plate to provide the training, equipment, competitive events, and ongoing support to the community recreation agencies. The agencies have incorporated the adapted sports into ongoing program offerings and demonstrated a depth of commitment that goes beyond expectations. And the participants have embraced the program with enthusiasm.

"USDAF and BlazeSports have provided us with training in the form of weekend workshops and seminars," says Oliver Webster, special services coordinator for the Troup County Parks and Recreation Commission. "We have also received racing wheelchairs and more general sport wheelchairs, along with some financial assistance for coaches. All of this has allowed us to offer a quality program."

Yetoi Horne, therapeutic recreation coordinator for the Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, points out "the training and coaching skills workshops offered throughout the year by USDAF have been instrumental in training our staff to teach adapted sports." Bob Brady, athletic coordinator of the Hall County Department of Parks and Leisure Services adds, "With USDAF support we have been able to offer programs to people with physical disabilities that we would not have been able to otherwise. We have held wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis clinics and are about to start an ongoing wheelchair basketball program."

Listening between the lines to these and other recreation professionals who work with the program, it becomes clear that an important element to the program is the knowledge that they are not in this alone. USDAF and BlazeSports are there to back them up when uncertainties or questions arise.

Andy Fleming, president of USDAF and former president of the Atlanta Paralympic Organizing Committee, himself a former competitive wheelchair athlete at the national level, has been involved in the development and delivery of adapted sports programs for more than 20 years. "We are finding the reception to BlazeSports exceeds our initial expectations. Our local community partners are quickly seeing that participants with physical disabilities have tremendous athletic potential and are developing ownership and pride in their programs," he states.

Recognizing that the importance of sport in the overall health and fitness of people with physical disabilities does not begin or end with childhood, BlazeSports provides programs for adults as well

"I work for a marketing company, and running helps me with the stress. When I started I had no stamina, but now my abilities are a whole lot higher," notes Elaine Wood, a 27-year-old participant in the BlazeSports track program for amputee athletes and a recent competitor at the Atlanta Track Club's All Comers Meet."

The sports offered through BlazeSports wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, and swimming and track and field for wheelchair, visually impaired, and amputee athletes -- are all on the program of the summer Paralympic Games, provide cardiovascular benefits, and are widely practiced by disabled and non-disabled athletes.

Role models are a major aspect of the BlazeSports program, and to guarantee that the best are incorporated into the initiative, Paralympic athletes play an active and important role as counselors and role models to participants, providing powerful examples of people with physical disabilities who have achieved excellence as athletes and enjoy full and productive adult lives. The BlazeSports Athletes Advisory Committee, which assists in the design and scheduling of events and competitions, comprises a Paralympic athlete or nationally recognized coach representative for each sport offered through the program.

This year USDAF extended its BlazeSports Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp program to include two concurrent sessions. One session, a three-day camp, was specifically for novice campers or campers who had less experience away from home. The other session ran a full week and was for more experienced campers. The reaction of parents and campers has confirmed the belief that the opportunity to experience sports in a concentrated environment and to build the personal skills that camp provides is an important step toward achieving independence for young people with physical disabilities.

To further this exciting menu of activities, a new USDAF program will kick off this year -- the inaugural Governor's Cup statewide wheelchair tennis competition, a USDAF partnership with GRPA and the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association.

The Governor's Cup initiative has launched a flurry of new wheelchair tennis programs across the state and fostered community partnerships between local tennis associations, rehabilitation agencies, and recreation providers to deliver ongoing training that will produce teams to compete in regional and finals competitions in the fall. The USDAF has donated tennis wheelchairs to the local programs and is holding a series of BlazeSports Tennis Days to introduce the sport and train local professionals. Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes' wife, Marie, herself an avid tennis player and member of ALTA's board, is the honorary chairperson for the Governor's Cup. They will present the Governor's Cup trophy at a reception at the Governor's Mansion in late October.

USDAF also is actively engaged in other activities that benefit both BlazeSports participants and U.S. athletes aspiring to selection to the 2000 United States Paralympic team. USDAF has sponsored training camps leading up to the 2000 Paralympic Games for USA women's wheelchair basketball, track and field, men's wheelchair basketball, and swimming. In exchange for USDAF sponsorship of these events, each team provided a skills development workshop or clinic for Georgia athletes, giving the Georgians the unique opportunity to train with top coaches and learn from the best athletes in the sports. The response from young athletes just beginning their move up the competitive ladder to these clinics has been terrific.

Shea Cowart, college student and first-time U.S. Paralympic team member, points out, "Having my coach a part of the BlazeSports amputee track program gives him flexible hours to work with us, and without BlazeSports I wouldn't have had the opportunity to compete at the All Comers Meet or at the BlazeSports Track Training Camp."

"Children and adults with physical disabilities are ready to meet the awesome challenges that competitive sports makes possible," says Fleming. "Our goals must include giving them the opportunity. As they become more fully integrated into all aspects of community life, our society reaps the rewards by gaining more confident, productive citizens."

The U.S. Disabled Athletes Fund (USDAF) is the successor organization to the Atlanta Paralympic Organizing Committee (APOC). The USDAF was established by APOC in 1993 to ensure that the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games would have a positive and lasting impact on disability sports in the United States. BlazeSports, a program of USDAF, is a community-based adapted sports program funded largely by a grant from the state of Georgia and other philanthropic gifts.

NRPA Courts AVA, Nets Gains

There are more than 46 million Americans playing volleyball these days, making it the second most "participated" sport in the United States. A dynamic relationship between the Amateur Volleyball Association and the National Recreation and Park Association is aimed at helping the sport grow through parks and recreation and increasing the availability and access to outdoor volleyball. The potential benefits for both organizations--as well as for the segment of the population introduced to an exciting, healthy new outlet -- are endless.

Since its inception in 1993, the AVA has set out to distinguish itself as the premier amateur outdoor volleyball association in the nation, a goal that is has achieved through the aggressive networking of volleyball event organizers and the establishment of a solid base of new volleyball enthusiasts as members. For the past seven years, the AVA has become a standard for the sport of amateur outdoor volleyball by cultivating the sport via a grassroots campaign while growing relationships with an impressive list of sponsors that includes Bausch and Lomb, Nike, and Wilson Sporting Goods. The AVA also maintains a unique synergistic relationship with the Association of Volleyball Professionals, nurturing talented players and gaining exposure for the sport at the professional and amateur levels.

Today, boasting 75,000 members in 52 regions, the AVA sanctions more than 2,500 divisional tournaments as well as the only 2-person and 6-person National Sand Volleyball Championships and Outdoor League Championships. In addition, the AVA heads up an impressive circle of clinics, leagues, and events, and maintains a quantitative national ranking system for established players.

Still, the focus of the NRPA-AVA partnership remains centered on promoting healthy lifestyles, growing participation, and working with parks and recreation -- an environment conducive to activity and learning -- to introduce a whole new audience to the fast-paced sport of volleyball.

"Volleyball is a highly social and extremely healthy lifetime sport," says Jeffrey R. David, director of the AVA and AVP tours. "Similar to tennis, people can enjoy it from ages 6 to 60. However, volleyball requires minimal skill to participate, will accommodate as many as 12 people per court, and a court can be thrown up just about anywhere."

Getting people involved with the sport, playing in professionally managed events that offer socialization, competition, and healthy fun is what the AVA thrives on. The partnership with NRPA promises to deliver on all of these initiatives, says Kathy J. Spangler, CLP, director of NRPA National Programs.

"It's difficult to think of a more natural partnership," says Spangler. "The AVA and NRPA both represent physical activity, health and wellness throughout the life cycle, and reliance upon a team to get things done."

Spangler's words are echoed by those of AVA-NRPA program spokesperson Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the sport's all-time winningest tournament record holder. "I have been involved with volleyball all my life, and this is a great way to give back," says Kiraly. "The AVA's ability to work with local agencies and help develop volleyball from the ground up is exactly what outdoor volleyball needs. Grassroots associations with consistent rules and program policies will help foster further interest in people of all ages and abilities."

Three sites - Aurora, Colo.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Joelton, Tenn., have agreed to pilot the national program. The goal is for each city to offer two six-week leagues for adults ages 18-35, with the final week of each league play to serve as a season-ending tournament. The pilots are encouraged to facilitate a four-week clinic for beginners. In addition, each pilot site was asked to host one non-league tournament before October 1, for which the AVA offered tournament directors assistance in rating and ranking players.

The AVA's technical assistance and tournament experience have been a tremendous asset to the success of participating agencies and groups and an overwhelming reason for the AVA-NRPA partnership's success.

"I have been a fan of outdoor volleyball for 10 years, but struggled to keep my own amateur tournaments afloat," says Jason Marsick, sports coordinator for the city of Altamonte Springs (Fla.). "I was overwhelmed with organizing so many different sports. The AVA sanctioning program really made it easy for me. Participation was low, and the program needed some assistance. The AVA provided me with turnkey rules and creative concepts to help market the program to the community."

Park and recreation agencies will also realize that the excitement of league play will keep patrons happy and returning. "I recently joined an AVA volleyball league because my co-workers were always joking about the games the night before," says Nikki Soltman, a new AVA league member from Denver. "I wanted to be a part of the fun."

The opportunity to play in a structured, supported environment benefits both the agency and the player. The AVA-NRPA program partnership is bringing volleyball to a court near you. Are you ready?

For more information on the AVA-NRPA partnership and what it can do for you, please call [phone], e-mail: [e-mail], or visit www. activeparks.org/programs or www. avptour.com/ava.