INCLUDING ADAPTIVE SPORTS IN

COLLEGES
By Juan Arellano

Imagine not being able to move

by yourself, having to depend on
others to do your daily duties and
being treated different because of
your disability.
Unfortunately many people face
these difficulties and are even
discriminated against because of
their disability. Colleges are not
except for this action that denies
social participation and it is more
than obvious that there must be
some changes in how society
views this issue in order to
eradicate this kind of behavior.

If you had a disability, wouldnt you want to have the same

opportunity to participate in any social activity?
Adaptive Sports: based on existing body abled sports, modified to meet
the needs of persons with a disability, are an efficient solution for those
persons that may not be able to compete in a conventional league because
of the need of special equipment.
Some of the most popular adaptive sports currently being implemented
in many Colleges throughout the United States are: wheelchair basketball,
wheelchair tennis,
wheelchair volleyball,
wheel chair fencing and
wheel chair ping pong. But
not all adaptive sports
involve the use of wheel
chairs; soccer for example
can be played by blind

people or amputees using crutches.

It is responsibility of Colleges to provide the equal number of sports to
able and disabled students .These students who also pay the recreational fee
that is included in their tuition should have access to sports that will
promote their physical and mental health. Colleges can achieve this by
making sure that they have the adequate equipment and the certified
personnel to deal with any incident that may occur during these events.

According to a recent study conducted by employees of the Center of

Accommodation Services (CASS), at the University Of Texas at El Paso
(UTEP), about 40 % of the students that receive help from this center
would be willing to participate in an Intramurals Adaptive Sports category
at the Recreation Center.
Neelam Agarwal: Assistant Director of CASS, agrees that it will only
be beneficial for this student with disabilities to engage in sports at UTEP,
and that the events that take place at the Memorial Gym where they gather
and participate in wheel chair basketball tournaments are not enough, and
that UTEPs community need to come up with something else to include all
of its students.
Ricardo Soto: Recreational Sports Specialist at UTEPs Recreation
Center considers that the UTEP already has the necessary infrastructure to
host this kind of events and that the only things that are missing are the
certified personnel and the capacity of advertising this event at campus.

You are not disabled by the disabilities you

have, you are able by the abilities you have
-Oscar Pistorius
In conclusion, every College has the potential of becoming the home
of future successful athletes, but not all of them are receiving the
opportunity to show their talents and gain experience trough competition,
and the students that would like to practice sports just with recreational
means, are not even taken in consideration.
As individuals we have the duty to demand equal opportunities for all
students, by doing so we will only be promoting physical and mental health
for all those persons with disabilities.

References

Adaptive Sports Boost Wounded Warriors' Confidence. (2013,

April 22). States News Service. Retrieved December 11, 2014,
from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-327313726.html?

Recreation, everyone's right[Motion picture]. (1986). The Project.

Warriors Take Adaptive Sports to 'Next Level' (2012, September

24). States News Service. Retrieved December 11, 2014, from
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-303418366.html?