RECREATION
This page has information on recreational opportunities, accessibility and adaptive equipment, including:
News
Veterans with Disabilities to Learn Life-Changing Skills at Summer Sports Clinic in San Diego, From the VA Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, August 26, 2010
2010 Winter Paralympics: The Big Picture, The Boston Globe, March 17, 2010
Adaptive Summer Sports Guide: Your Ticket to Fun in the Sun!, By Debbie Marsh, Disaboom.com, July 23 2009
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games Promote Competition and Camaraderie, By Mike Savicki, Disaboom.com, July 2009
Advocacy Organizations and Informational Resources
The ABLEDATA Travel Resource Center links you to over 50 different websites with travel or recreation information of interest to people with disabilities.
The Adaptive Sports Center provides outstanding instruction and outdoor experiences to clients from all over the globe. The ASC provides more than 3,600 outdoor recreational activities annually to people with disabilities and at-risk-youth. Accessible outdoors experiences provided by the Adaptive Sports Center include canoeing, downhill mountain biking, hand-cycling, rock-climbing, hiking, pontoon boating, sea kayaking, multiday river trips, whitewater rafting, skiing, snowboarding and camping.
The Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) seeks to expand the potential of people with disabilities and special needs through meaningful, educational, and inspiring outdoor experiences. The BOEC offers Adaptive Skiing and Snowboarding, Wilderness Courses (on-site as well as mobile courses), Professional Challenge Courses, and a unique Internship Program. Situated on 39 acres, the BOEC boasts a climbing wall, a high ropes course, high and low team initiatives, rafts, canoes, sea kayaks, cabins, teepees, and much more, as resources for experiential education.
CHALLENGED AMERICA is an adaptive-sailing rehabilitation program for kids and adults with disabilities.
Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA) offers nationwide sports rehabilitation programs to anyone with a permanent disability. Activities include winter skiing, water sports, summer and winter competitions, fitness and special sports events.
The Eureka Freedom Tent is the first-ever camping tent designed for use by people with disabilities. Its self-supporting
aluminum frame has
easy post and grommet
attachments plus
continuous rod sleeves
that guide poles into
pole pockets, which make tent
set up possible from a
wheelchair from one
side of the tent. Large pull handles
on interior door and
window zippers make
them easy to operate for campers with limited
dexterity. The tent vestibule provides space for two wheelchairs inside the tent.
The USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF) is recognized as the only national athletic association to coordinate the participation of American deaf and hard of hearing individuals in international competitions, the Federation is affiliated with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf and has hosted the Summer Deaflympics in 1965 (Washington, DC) and 1985 (Los Angeles), and the Winter Deaflympics in 1975 (Lake Placid, NY) and 2007 (Salt Lake City).
The Kansas Accessible Sports website is new and currently contains information on the Kansas Wheelhawks wheelchair basketball team and the Lawrence Wheelchair Tennis Team, but their goal is to become the home for information about accessible sports teams, events, and organizations in Kansas.
National Parks: Accessible to Everyone this website showcases trails, activities, and other features that are accessible at units of the National Park System nationwide. The information presented here is a sampling of the accessible facilities and programs available to visitors throughout the National Park System. To find information about places not included in this website check out www.nps.gov and “Find A Park .”
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) is the nation's oldest and largest disability sport organization. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the NWBA is a non-profit organization which serves as the national governing body for men's, women's and youth wheelchair basketball in the United States.
National Center on Accessibility is a collaborative program of Indiana University and the National Park Service, the National Center on Accessibility is the nation’s premiere resource promoting access for people with disabilities in recreation.
Wilderness Inquiry (WI) provides outdoor adventure experiences to inspire personal growth, community integration and enhanced awareness of the natural environment. WI offers a wide variety of canoe, sea kayak, dogsled, raft, horse pack and hiking trips throughout North America and the World. The unique thing about Wilderness Inquiry is that we make the outdoors accessible to everyone, including persons with disabilities. We hope to see you on the trail.
Publications
Access to Recreation provides an online catalog with a comprehensive selection of adaptive equipment and assistive devices designed to increase access to a variety of outdoor recreational experiences for people with disabilities.
Accessible Air Travel: A Guide for People with Disabilities - Information from the United Spinal Association about accessible air travel for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids. Includes information about the Air Carrier Access Act, tips for transferring and lifting a passenger, security screening and procedures for filing complaints.
Disaboom Adaptive Summer Sports Guide, Paddle, handcycle, flip and spin your way into a world of sunny adventure with the all-new Disaboom Adaptive Summer Sports Guide! Whether you're interested in a lazy raft trip on calm water or the whitewater thrill of a lifetime, no matter if you're a wheelchair user or simply have chronic pain, we've got resources for your adaptive sports experience. Horseback riding, surfing, tandem cycling ... on land or by water, you'll find it here.