Move United Sport

The weather cooling off down South creates the perfect conditions for the final Move Unted Sanctioned Competition of the season! GUMBO - Games Uniting Mind and Body are closing out 2024 with the GUMBO State Governor's Games in Natchitoches, Louisiana on October 5th.

There's still time to register! For more information and links to register, visit moveunitedsport.org/event/2024-gumbo-state-governors-games

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The Fall issue of Move United Magazine is now live! Get your fix of paracycling, paratriathlon, and Jessica Heims today by downloading the digital version at moveunitedsport.org/news-media/move-united-magazine

Casey Orndorff was born with cerebral palsy. He got started in sports by joining his track team in high school and then the cross country team his senior year. This propelled him to earn a cross country scholarship to West Virginia University Institute of Technology, where he competed all four years and served as the team captain. As an adult, he has continued to compete in a number of events, including the Little Rock Half Marathon, the University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, and The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United. But in addition to being an athlete, he has also gone on to earn a master’s degree in mathematics and a PhD in computational analysis and modeling. Let’s chat with him on our : moveunitedsport.org/podcast

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Move United's USA Wheelchair Football League's 2024 season is in full swing! This weekend's tournament is brought to you by Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota!

Are you in the Minneapolis area? Then come cheer on the Greater Buffalo Adaptive Sports Buffalo Bills, Adaptive Sports Ohio Cleveland Browns, RISE Adaptive Sports Dallas Cowboys, WASA - Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association Green Bay Packers, Midwest Adaptive Sports Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Angel City Sports Los Angeles Chargers, Adaptive Sports New England New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints wheelchair football teams! The championship game kicks off tomorrow at 12:00 PM (Central). See you there!

The is a program of that is made possible in part by support from the National Football League (NFL) - Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) partnership.

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Move United was excited this week to partner with REI for an outdoor accessibility roundtable which brought federal agencies, non-profit leaders, and legislators Tammy Duckworth and Bruce Westerman together to discuss collaboration on national policy action for the disability community to access the outdoors. Thanks to Move United member organizations Adaptive Adventures, Catalyst Sports and Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports for their participation – as well as the amazing Quinn Brett of Dovetail Trail Consulting!

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Move United's USA Wheelchair Football League travels to Minneapolis this weekend! Move United will host 9 teams, more than 150 athletes, veterans, coaches, officials, and volunteers from across the country, in partnership with Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute!

Get in the game by coming out to support these incredible athletes as a volunteer or a screaming fan! 19 games will be played over the course of two days and a Learn to Play Clinic will take place on Sunday, so there is plenty of opportunity to get involved. Learn more at moveunitedsport.org/usa-wheelchair-football-league/2024tournaments

The is a program of that is made possible in part by support from the National Football League (NFL) - Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) partnership, which is part of the League’s Salute to Service initiative.

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Are you a winter sports supplier, equipment manufacturer, medical supplier, coach, non-profit, or academian in search of a customer audience? Well you're in luck, because The Hartford Ski Spectacular is bringing the audience together for you at Beaver Run Resort & Conference Center in Breckenridge from December 8-14, 2024!

As one of the nation’s largest ski events for individuals with disabilities, attendees include medical professionals, athletes with disabilities (from beginner through elite), clinicians, volunteers, and winter sports instructors. On-snow and indoor vendor spots are available Monday thru Friday, and an exhibitor hall is available Tuesday and Wednesday. Register your interest by September 30, 2024.

For full details, visit https://moveunitedsport.org/events/the-hartford-ski-spectacular/vendors

On August 27, 2007, an IED destroyed the vehicle that U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Scholten was riding in near Bagdad, Iraq, causing a spinal fusion, traumatic brain injury, and more. During recovery, Matthew was introduced to adaptive sports. He tried out for the Army Warrior Games team in 2016 and made it to the final rounds of selection. But since its inception, Matthew has been a part of the Kansas City Chiefs Wheelchair Football Team, playing in the Championship game every year to this point. Now he’s gearing up for the 2024 season, so let’s chat with him on our : moveunitedsport.org/podcast

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Tonight, we bring to a close the Paris 2024 chapter of the greatest spectacle in , the Paralympic Games, and what a show it was. Streaming services and networks around the world provided unprecedented access to nearly every competition, as Parisians and global fans showed up in person to bear witness to the greatest athletes in the world.

With the Paris Paralympics over, we and our 230 Member organizations look forward to the next chapter. Now, we build. We build a generation of adaptive athletes ready to take on the world. We build a world ready to accept those adaptive athletes for their achievements. For their sportsmanship. For their Disability.

The road to LA28 does not start today. It did not start yesterday, nor will it start tomorrow. It started in 1948 at the Stoke Mandeville Games. It started the moment an athlete was born or became disabled. It started the first time an athlete showed up to a camp for the sport they would come to love.

It continues every day a person with disabilities wakes up to a world that fights them at every turn. It is fueled by a desire to live fully and unapologetically. The Road to LA28 need not involve a team roster or on a podium. The Spirit of the Paralympics is the spirit of the adaptive sports movement, at any level, with any result, from a recreational workout to the greatest legends of parasport.

We are all the Movement. We are all adaptive athletes. We are all .

Susannah Scaroni and Women's wheelchair basketball bring home the final medals for Move United athletes on Team USA!

Team USA Men's wheelchair basketball and women's sitting volleyball joined the crowd at the top of the podium!

Sometimes, you just gotta make your own way.

Ezra Frech began his journey competing in events like the Move United Member University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games. But Oklahoma is a long way from Los Angeles, and travel is one of the most insurmountable barriers to looking to compete in events.

So, to fill the need for adaptive sports programming in Southern California, Ezra and his Hollywood-connected family founded Angel City Sports. Now, folks in SoCal have a place to come together, try out new sports and activities, and compete as the adaptive athletes they dream of being. And with the two-time Team USA Paralympic Games Gold medalist carrying the banner, Angel City Sports is poised to be a positive impact on generations of disabled people to come.

Sometimes, you just gotta make your own way, and bring others with you.

Hunter Woodhall enters the stage in grand fashion to join the Move United-connected Team USA athletes on the podium!

Registration is NOW OPEN for the 2024 The Hartford Ski Spectacular! Join us December 8-14 at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, CO for a week of Ski Spectacular MAGIC! As one of the nation’s largest winter sports festivals for people with disabilities, thousands of participants have experienced the transformational powers of . The mountains are calling - JOIN US! For more information and to register, visit www.skispec.org

The Hartford Ski Spectacular - Move United % December 8 - 14, 2024 | Breckenridge, CO Arrive Sunday | Depart Saturday

Team USA Men's discus joins the list of Move United-connected athletes bringing home medals!

Move United is making the rounds at Abilities Expo this coming year! Featured annually in several North American cities, the Expos are free, three-day, all-access passports to the latest products, cutting-edge tech, informative workshops, and adaptive activities. If you're looking for disability culture in your region, Abilities Expos should be the first place you look! To learn more, visit abilities.com.

Team USA paracycling women started the day off strong, and Move United athletes in swimming and track & field followed them up with more medals!

The name Tatyana McFadden has become nearly synonymous with over the last decade or so. But it was more than just a seemingly endless list of victories and medals that made her a household name.

It was her leadership.

Tatyana never forgot what -- and who -- it took to get her where she is today. Her history with Bennett Institute Booster Club at Kennedy Krieger Institute taught her about the resources young need to compete and the barriers that stand in their way. She helped break barriers -- not just for herself, but for all who follow -- by lobbying for the Maryland Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act (aka "Tatyana's Law"), which required schools to provide equal physical education and athletic opportunities for students with disabilities. To help athletes reach the events they need to advance their pursuits, Tatyana partnered with to provide over $32,000 in grants to 65 athletes, and that was just this year!

Tune in to cheer Tatyana McFadden on as she hits the track again this afternoon in search of her 20th Paralympic Games medal!

(Photos courtesy of Deborah McFadden)

Another day, another round of medals for Move United athletes on Team USA!

Kendra Herber had a birth deformity when she was born that resulted in becoming an amputee at the age of 2. It's a title that she has both struggled with and felt extreme pride in throughout the years. Kendra has been a world ranked para triathlete, model, speaker, disability advocate, and high school teacher. She is also the author of “Whole: A Leg Up on Life.” She has also taken up the sport of tennis and is currently leading Cincinnati Tennis Foundation, an adaptive tennis program in Cincinnati, Ohio. Let’s chat with her on our : moveunitedsport.org/podcast

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Move United athletes on Team USA keep bringing in the medals!

The Paralympic Games are the summit of many athletes' journeys through adaptive sports, but where do those journeys begin? For nearly 2/3 of Team USA athletes, those journeys were aided by Move United.

Move United Serves as Pipeline to Paralympics - Move United Sport showcases what’s possible for people with disabilities. It can also be a platform to fuel conversation and confront ignorance. There is no bigger

Team USA athletes with connections to Move United are making themselves known on the podium!

Can you hear it? The thump of pads hitting pads, the crack of aluminum chairs crashing into each other. The NFL regular season kicks off this week, and the USA Wheelchair Football League's season is already in full swing. Get in the Game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wheelchair Football and their 13 league rivals!

The is a program of that is made possible in part by support from the National Football League (NFL) - Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) partnership, which is part of the League’s Salute to Service initiative.

NFL Football Country 2024 || Kickoff This is Football Country. The NFL kicks off 9/5. live local and primetime games, NFL RedZone, and NFL Network on Plus.NFL.comCheck out our ...

You see them at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, competing amongst the best in the world. Now, listen to their stories -- in their own words.

Move United's "Redefining Disability" has been sitting down with for three years, chronicling the journeys of over 150 athletes as they experience them. Many are competing in the right now, others strive to represent their country in games to come.

Listen to their stories at moveunitedsport.org/podcast

Join us for the “Move United Gateway: Exploring Inclusive Sports and Recreation” event, where your organization will have the opportunity to connect with a diverse and passionate audience. Each participating organization will be provided with its own virtual room to meet potential candidates, share current job openings, and engage in meaningful discussions about your mission and programs. This event is designed to highlight your work, promote your organization’s initiatives, and showcase the impact you are making in adaptive sport and community support. Join here -

Move United Gateway Exploring Inclusive Sports and Recreation Checkout this event on Airmeet

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games competitions are underway, with swimming, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby leading things off! Move United Member Organizations are well-represented on Team USA, with most of the players calling their United States Wheelchair Rugby Association teams home!

Chuck Aoki - University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness
Brad Hudspeth - Midwest Adaptive Sports
Chris Fleace, Josh Wheeler, Lee Fredette, Travis Baker, and Josh O'Neill - Arizona Adaptive Athletics
Chuck Melton - Wounded Warriors Abilities Ranch
Eric Newby and Sarah Adam - Disabled Athlete Sports Association
Clayton Brackett, Zion Redington, and the home of USA Wheelchair Rugby - Lakeshore Foundation

(Photo courtesy of USA Wheelchair Rugby)

When Zion Walker was in fifth grade, he started attending the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in Staunton, Virginia. Around the age of 12, his older brother Sean was playing the sport of goalball and he wanted to follow in his footsteps. He also played basketball, ran cross country, and competed in track. As a blind athlete, goalball became his primary sport. He would move from his home in Wi******er, VA to Washington DC and played there for a couple of years, before moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana to join the men’s national goalball team headquartered at Turnstone Center for Children and Adults with Disabilities, a Move United Member organization. He is now in Paris preparing for his first Paralympic Games. Let’s chat with him on our : moveunitedsport.org/podcast

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Happy , everyone! We here at Move United and our Member Organizations have been working hard to get you hyped up for our as they head off to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, but how do you watch them compete?

NBCUniversal has a huge slate of coverage lined up this year across their networks and Peacock. Mark your calendars to catch your favorite sports and !

nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/how-to-watch-the-paris-2024-paralympic-games-across-nbcuniversal

HOW TO WATCH THE PARIS 2024 PARALYMPIC GAMES ACROSS NBCUNIVERSAL NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and CNBC to Lead NBCU’s Coverage of the XVII Paralympic Games from Paris, France

The home team Chicago Bears Wheelchair Football Team brought home the championship at the 2024 USA Wheelchair Football League Chicago Tournament, hosted by GLASA - Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association!

gridiron action rolls on as we get set for the next regular season tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota in three weeks. Get off the sidelines and get in the game by becoming a volunteer! For team and tournament info, visit moveunitedsport.org/usa-wheelchair-football-league/2024tournaments

The is a program of that is made possible in part by support from the National Football League (NFL) - Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) partnership, which is part of the League’s Salute to Service initiative.

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