Spring Adapted Sports Day to bring youth with disabilities to JMU campus
News
The spring Adapted Sports Day will be held Feb. 7-8 on the campus of James Madison University, offering the sports of volleyball and basketball to middle school and high school students with disabilities.
Adapted Sports Day is a free event designed to expose middle school, high school, and college-eligible participants with disabilities to a college campus, using sport as a tool for empowerment. Participants who are ambulatory, use a manual wheelchair, or use a power wheelchair will experience an introduction to sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, as well as ambulatory volleyball and basketball through interaction with JMU students who will serve as mentors. The goal of Adapted Sports Day is to empower individuals with disabilities that new challenges—such as learning to play a sport or even adjusting to college – are possible to overcome.
Participants will gather for a pizza social thanks to the locally owned Domino’s on Friday, Feb. 7 and attend the JMU women’s basketball game at the Convocation Center. On Saturday, Feb. 8, participants will engage in clinic sessions featuring volleyball and basketball at Godwin Gym, working with the JMU women’s volleyball team, as well as the Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team. Participants and their families will experience lunch at JMU’s nationally recognized East Campus Dining Hall. The afternoon will include participants showing off their skills in volleyball and basketball games and closing ceremonies.
Adapted Sports Day was made possible through an IDEA diversity grant from the JMU president's office. Dr. Joshua Pate (School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management) and Dr. Thomas Moran (Department of Kinesiology) collaborated to submit a proposal for the IDEA grant and were awarded funding to host a fall Adapted Sports Day and a spring Adapted Sports Day. The fall event brought 15 participants and their families to campus for an adapted soccer clinic.
Below is an example of sitting volleyball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66iwMfOj5A
Below is an example of wheelchair basketball:
