Sportable Receives Grant from US Paralympics Military Program

Sportable is embarking on a new chapter and has transitioned from an all-volunteer organization to staffing a full time Executive Director, dedicated to establishing opportunities for adaptive sports and recreation in Central Virginia.

We will be expanding to offer a total of 12 adaptive sports and recreation opportunities in partnership with the US Paralympics Military Program.  Programs will be offered both in the community-for individuals with physical disabilities ages 5 and up, through local partnerships with our City and County Parks and Recreation Departsments-as well as at our local Veterans Medical Center.

The U.S. Paralympics is leading the development of new Paralympic sport programs in 250 American cities by 2012. With 21 million physically disabled Americans, including more than 35,000 military personnel who’ve been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is an important community need. There is also a focus- on the part of the US Paralympics- to develop such clubs in communities with Veterans Medical Centers or other Military installations.  So, given that the Richmond community is home to HH McGuire Veterans Medical Center-it was a natural partnership.  

The following programs will be introduced over the course of the next twelve months-

• Power Wheelchair Soccer- 2x p/month (beginning in January)
• Hand cycling – Weekday Spin Classes & Weekend Rides ( beginning in February)
• Adaptive Kayaking- Weekly  Pool Sessions (beginning in February); River Days ( May)
• Wheelchair Tennis- 6 Weekend  Sessions with Pro and Weekly practices (beginning in March)
• Adaptive Aquatics-Weekly Swim Sessions ( Beginning in March)
• Wheelchair Basketball- 2Xp/week Recreational & Competitive (Year round)
• Archery- Biweekly ( beginning in late Spring)
• Air Rifle- Biweekly ( beginning in late Spring)
• Strength & Conditioning-up to 3Xp/wk ( beginning in March)
• Track & Field- 1x p month ( beginning in June)
• Wheelchair Softball- 1x p/month (beginning in June)

If you are interested in becoming involved with any of the above programs-either as a volunteer coach/trainer (if you have personal experience to motivate your peers) or as a potential athlete-please visit our website for additional information   www.sportable.org or contact: Kristen Lessig, CTRS Email: klessig@sportable.org  Phone: (804)677-1467 (cell) (804)340-2991 (office)

 <iframe src=”http://natalie.feedroom.com/usoc/natoneclip/Player.swf?site=usoc&skin=natoneclip&fr_story=c0c39dcfe0c45e1b9e5fb93d99781c90ddc53f3f&auto_play=false&mute=false&setvolume=50 ” allowFullScreen=”true” allowScriptAccess=”always” height=”240″ width=”320″ frameborder = “0″></iframe>

Strike? Spare? We don’t care!

We just want to see you! Bowl (for a cause) with Sportable on Sunday, August 30th at 1pm.

Three games of bowling. shoe rentals. food. pizza. Only $35 per person.

Hanover Lanes: 7317 Bell Creek Rd., Mechanicsville, VA 23111

Richmond Magazine Covers RimRiders

We’re so proud of our team – check out the article that appeared in Richmond Magazine!

“The wheelchair-basketball program is organized by the local nonprofit Sportable, which promotes adaptive sports. In March, the RimRiders capped off their competitive season, which started in October, with a visit to the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s U.S. championships.”

http://www.richmondmagazine.com/?articleID=e30f90060e1e5c39129bf85b40290aeb

Wheelchair Tennis Exhibition

Sportable, in partnership with the Richmond Tennis Association and the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Tennis Association, will be hosting a tennis exhibition on May 9th, 2-4pm at Byrd Park.

For more information contact Shima Grover at 750-1781 or shimagro@gmail.com

Sportable Richmond Rimriders visit Denver CO for the 2009 NWBA Nationals

The Sportable Richmond Rimriders recently traveled to Denver Colorado to attend the 2009 Division III National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. There were 27 teams from all over the country fighting for the title of National Champions. The Rimriders were out of their element and were quickly knocked out of the tournament in the first two rounds. Perhaps it may have been the travel lag and two hour time difference, it may have also been the fact that Denver aka “Mile High City” is 5230 ft. above sea level which has funny affects on your ability to breath and balance. It just seemed that no one on the team could find their pace. Each opponent seemed to “roll” right over us.  Ha ha, no pun intended.  On a positive note, we won our consolation game versus Tampa Bay in an amazing finish. The Rimriders were tied at the half, and about 7:00 minutes before the end of the game both Mickey Morin and Matthew Deans fouled out of the game. It was up to Ike Cook, Stan Corn, Jimmy May and Steve Edgar to finish the game without losing our 10 point lead. They pulled it off by the hair of their chin, by the way, all of those players are 50 years old I might add. Way to go old dudes!!!

Let’s fly American!

I read this morning that American Airlines and the American Association of People With Disabilities are planning to honor what they deem the best television commercials featuring “positive portrayals of the disabled.” The winning spot will get free air time during the airline’s in-flight entertainment programming. In a time when marketing dollars are being cut and companies are laying people off, this a commendable act and a move in the right direction. I’ll be flying American Airlines on my next adventure!

If you have any favorite commercials, let us know by commenting on this post.

Soccer Coach Announced

Sportable is excited to have Hunter Leeman as our PowerSoccer coach! He’s a Sports Management graduate student at VCU and is sure to bring valuable lessons to our team. 

Power Soccer is a sport specifically designed for Power wheelchair users and is played on a basketball court with players trying to push an 18” ball into the goal to score. Plastic guards are used to protect players’ feet as well as the wheelchair. This also allows for more control of the ball.

See photos from our first practice here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36167106@N07/

Great Commercial

In life, make this your goal: “watch the donut, not the hole.”

Hold On To Your Dreams

 

By JOYCE McKENZIE

jmckenzie@tampatrib.com 

Published: March 11, 2009

EAST TAMPA – The life of Sarah Reinertsen has been a series of trials and triumphs. Fortunately for her, the feats far override the failures.

The New York City native likes to tell people she was born “different” 33 years ago.

When just a toddler she was diagnosed with a left leg deformity called proximal femoral focal deficiency, a condition in which her left leg was markedly shorter than her right leg. She wore a stiff leg brace until age 7, when her parents opted for surgery to amputate her leg.

RimRider’s Recap of Philadelphia Tournament

Overall we played well. We crushed four out of five of the teams. We played some of the best basketball of the season. However by game five on day three we were just too tired to keep up with the Boston Celtics. This team has given us trouble every time we meet. We did beat the Philadelphia 76ers, edging past them with a 5 point lead. They are our East Coast Rivals and we have gone tit for tat each time we play, this time we ended up on top at the end of the game. 
 
On a personal note, I played well. I took both awards this weekend for the tournament . Leading Scorer & MVP. MVP was decided by each game where the teams ranked the players on the basis of overall skills, assigning a 1,2 or 3. I played my heart out every game and didn’t give up or play down. I scored 22 points this morning against the deleware destroyers. I also was awarded the leading scorer with a overall total of 77 points!!

Signed – Matthew

 

Holding two trophies from the Phili Tournament