Wheelchair Sports Federation

It was an amazing day this past Tuesday at Citi Field for the 3rd Annual Wheelchair Softball Clinic sponsored by Wheelchair Sports Federation New York Mets MLB New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Wounded Warrior Project and the fabulous Amazin' Mets Fdn where Adaptive Athletes participated in several exhibition games, as well as a clinic for local school children with special needs from District 75 of the NYC Department of Education. Former Mets player and SNY broadcaster Todd Zeile was on hand, as was Mr. Met, Paralympic Sled Hockey Gold Medalist Alan Page, and entertainment from the American Bombshells Patriotic Services and USA CHEERLEADERS

Great time was had by all and we look forward to doing it again next year.

PUSH HARD

Check out this Sled Hocky Game. WSF Sled Rangers

Red Wings vs Rangers Alumni Hockey Game || Full Livestream Full livestream check out more exclusive content on The PreP All-Access below!https://www.patreon.com/thePrePsports

Able Newspaper, with news impacting the disabled, relaunches Editor Emily Ladau said she wants to bring fresh, original reporting to local and national issues that affect the disability community.

Challenged Athletes Foundation - It Started With Friends Helping a Friend. Now a Group Helps Thousands

It Started With Friends Helping a Friend. Now a Group Helps Thousands Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a five-time Paralympic swimming medalist, was born with a rare birth defect, and his legs were amputated when he was 5 years old. He is one of more than 44,000 people who have been helped by the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which provided him with leg prosthetics.

Congratulations to our friend and original volunteer and organizer of Wheelchair Sports Federation. Well deserved!

The Neilsen Foundation is so proud to salute our Founder with the 2023 Craig H. Neilsen Visionary Prize, named in his honor. Like Craig, this year’s recipients – Victor Calise, Carmen Daniels Jones, and Vincent Pierce – are determined, passionate, and inspiring.
https://chnfoundation.org/programs/visionary-prize/

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Want to watch from wherever you are?!

The livestream will be on:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com//

Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 website: https://invictusteamus.com/

USTA awards more than $60,000 in grants to 34 wheelchair tennis programs nationwide, including 2 in Queens

Great fun at New York City Summer Streets! Join us tomorrow morning, August 19th, in Foley Square to give wheelchair basketball a try!

Philadelphia Flyers PowerPlay – Power Wheelchair Floor Hockey The Philadelphia Flyers PowerPlay, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, are a power wheelchair floor hockey team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Join us Sunday, Sept 10 at City Winery for a new on Wheels.

Some event highlights:

*NYC's top will be pouring over 150 .

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Tickets are $150. Use promo code EARLYBIRD for a 20% discount until June 30th.

We hope to see you there!

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We are thrilled to invite you to an unforgettable celebration of art, crafts, and endless fun for all ages on July 16th at the Central Park Naumburg Bandshell in NYC.

Disability Unite Festival is just around the corner, and we can't contain our excitement to share with you the incredible array of activities and experiences that await you.

Sign up for our newsletter at disabilityunite.org to stay in the know as we release more information about the schedule and offerings.
Image description: A woman in a blue shirt draws with chalk on the floor next to a long row of connected wooden benches where people are sitting. Across from her on the right of the image is a row of tables with art supplies, and people making arts and crafts.

Memorial Day Alert! 🎉

Hey everyone! Liam John USA here, and we're excited to share some amazing news as Memorial Day approaches!! 🎆
Starting this Thursday- Saturday, we will be running a promotion in honor of Memorial Day. Customers will recieve 10% off on all purchases storewide!

But that's not all – we're also proud to announce that 5% of all sales during this period will be donated to the Memorial Day Foundation.

This promotion is our way of showing gratitude to the brave men and women who have selflessly served our country. By shopping with us, not only will you be able to snag some incredible deals, but you'll also be contributing to a great cause. 🇺🇸❤️

Stay tuned for more updates and don't miss out on this special promotion! Spread the word and let's make this Memorial Day one to remember.

https://qns.com/2023/05/mets-wheelchair-softball-game-clinic-citi-field/

Mets host annual wheelchair softball game, clinic at Citi Field – QNS.com The New York Mets hosted the Wheelchair Sports Federation for its annual softball game at the Citi Field parking lot Wednesday. In addition to the game, a

Thanks again to the Amazin' Mets Fdn New York Mets Todd Zeile Citi New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the Wheelchair Sports Federation volunteers and athletes for helping Adaptive Athletes in the NYC play Wheelchair Softball. Great day and great play. Looking forward to doing it again next year!

The Brothers Fueling a Wheelchair Basketball Powerhouse After the unthinkable happened, they picked themselves up and landed on a basketball court.

Handcycle team on a mission to participate in adaptive sports Brooklyn is home to one of the city's only self-organized hand cycling team comprised of athletes with disabilities. CBS2's Hannah Kliger has their story.

Get signed up to go to the 2023 Abilities Expo at the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center on May 5th, 6th and 7th, 2023
Fri. 11am-5pm | Sat. 11am-5pm | Sun 11am-4pm

Register for FREE -

Abilities Expo New York Metro | The Event for People with Disabilities Abilities Expo New York Metro: Three days. One roof. Endless opportunities for people with disabilities!

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GREAT OFFER from ABLE Newspaper for News of the Disability Community.

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With a very sad heart, we are sharing that our dear friend Edwin "Edy" Lopez has passed away. Below is an obituary the family asked to share with all his friends and teammates. And he had many!

EDWIN LOPEZ
December 19, 1961 to February 11, 2023

Edwin “Edy” Lopez from Amityville NY died unexpectedly on Saturday February 11, 2023 at the age of 61 from stage 4 Esophageal cancer and Chronic myeloid leukemia at the VA Medical Center in Northport NY. Mr. Lopez is survived by his loving wife of 40 years Marisol, his children, Edwin Jr, Jonathan, Ricardo; his nieces Lovette, Angelica; nephew George and grandson Logan.
Edy was born in the Bronx, NY on December 19, 1961 to Reniero Lopez and Maria Ruiz.

He attended school in Puerto Rico leaving with a certification in Automotive Body & Paint and after graduation joined the Navy and served on the USS Independence as an Aviation Electronics Technician. Edy left the Navy in 1981 with an honorable discharge due to an accident which led to a cancer that resulted in the amputation of his left leg.

He started working at Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association in East Elmhurst NY, supervising the mailroom of the largest Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. It is there that he started playing wheelchair basketball under the tutelage of a pioneer in Adaptive Sports, Al Youakim, with the Bulova Watchmakers. In 1992, he was an alternate for the USA Wheelchair Basketball Team In 1996, Edwin played for the Puerto Rico National Team He participated in the inaugural NBA/NWBA All-Star game in NY, that took place in 1998 and played in 7 NBA/NWBA All-Star games. He was voted MVP of the 2005 NBA/NWBA All-Star game in Dallas, Texas. In 2013, he won the Cherry Hill, NJ B Wheelchair Tennis Singles Championship as well as made the US Tennis Association (USTA) Queens, NY B Finals. He was also a member of the New York Knicks Wheelchair Basketball Team that won their first National Championship in 2014.

Edwin Lopez played in the NWBA for over 30 years, winning the Eastern Wheelchair Basketball Conference Championships (EWBC) 15 times as a 14 time All Star and earning 11 EWBC MVP awards.

Edy Lopez got his nickname “Showpez” from his unbridled enthusiasm with showing off his athletic skills and enthralling the crowd. He enjoyed traveling across the country to compete with the best adaptive athletes in the United States, Puerto Rico and Ecuador. According to John Hamre, President of the Wheelchair Sports Federation, "Edy Lopez was a fierce competitor, one of the top wheelchair athletes in the country, an inspiration to many and a great friend". Edy closed the book on his basketball career with the Nassau Kings as a player and a coach. With the Nassau Kings he participated in a number of fundraiser’s and community events to allow them to participate in and host tournaments.

In 2002, Edwin was honored by the Queens Borough President and her Task Force on Persons with Disabilities for providing outstanding service to people with special needs. He was one of the first adaptive athletes teaching newly injured veterans coming home from Iraq in 2004 with Wounded Warrior Project and helped start their Adaptive Sports program that continues to this day.

He was also a proud and founding member of Wheelchair Sports Federation in 2007 and worked tirelessly for adaptive athletes in the New York City area. He was also actively involved as an ambassador for Adaptive Sports and promoting it nationwide, including Wheelchair Tennis, Sled Hockey, Wheelchair Lacrosse, Wheelchair Football, Handcycling and Wheelchair Softball reaching thousands of men, women, children and fellow injured veterans over his career. He was a guest speaker at numerous NYC schools.

He was also a crucial member of the 2003 National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA) Championship Team - the NY Mets. The NY Mets recently honored Edy as a “Community Hero” as he threw the first pitch at Citi Field before a NY Mets game on July 7, 2022.

“The show never stops” Edwin made his television debut in ‘Burn Notice’ and even moved over to the big screen with ‘The Ex’. He appeared in the music video ‘Welcome to wherever you are’ with Bon Jovi, and performed with the Heidi Latsky Dance Company at Lincoln Center in NYC. If you include the many interviews featured on multiple news outlets for a variety of sports events, charity and community events, it’s easy to tell that Edwin enjoyed the spotlight and was a spectacle for all to enjoy.

Information on Edwin’s celebration of life gathering for all to attend will be announced in the coming months.

A Virtual Mass will be held on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023 at 10:45am EST To join, use this link: https://tinyurl.com/RIPShowpez

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 21st at 12:30 pm EST at St. Michaels Cemetery 75-02 Astoria Blvd S, East Elmhurst, NY 11370

In Lieu of Flowers, the family has requested that donations be made In Honor of Edwin Lopez with the Wheelchair Sports Federation. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=6GZ2V5PHY25VW

POWER WHEELCHAIR SOCCER CLINIC in NJ on Sunday March 26th, 2023. Sign Up today!

Our America: Veterans Go For Gold takes you inside the 2022 Warrior Games | Watch the full episode Cheer on the nearly 300 wounded, ill and injured active-duty and veteran military service members who trained and competed in the 2022 Warrior Games.

Wheelchair Sports Federation Yankee Stadium 9-7-22

This Wheelchair Tennis Champ Excels at These Exercises. You Can, Too. Dana Mathewson won a Grand Slam with the help of this upper-body workout. It can also benefit most people who work at desks all day.

Great to be back outside playing Wheelchair Softball in NYC! Thanks to the New York Mets and their Accessibility and Disability Alliance New York City Department of Parks & Recreation NYC District 75 Elementary Teachers & Related Serivce Providers Citi Amazin' Mets Fdn and Todd Zeile for making Tuesday such a great event. Looking forward to a great summer of Wheelchair Softball!!!

NY Mets host 2022 Wheelchair Softball Tournament and Clinic at Citi Field