Members of the campus and Central New York communities are invited to participate in Syracuse University’s third annual Accessible Athletics Expo, “OrangeAbility.” This student-led initiative, sponsored by the OrangeAbility committee of the SU Disability Cultural Center (DCC) and the community organization Move Along Inc., will take place on Sunday, March 30, from 1-4 p.m. in Flanagan Gymnasium on the SU campus.
The athletic event is free and open to the public. Participants will have the chance to play and experience wheelchair basketball, power soccer, sled hockey and more, including a meet-and-greet with Ms. Wheelchair New York, Jessica Patterson. Drop-ins are welcome on the day of the event.
In addition, attendees will be able to visit with local community-based organizations and SU student groups at the expo. Local businesses and organizations that align with a wide array of diversity areas are welcome to table at the event, and should register in advance at http://goo.gl/X1xww.
“OrangeAbility is extremely important because it promotes inclusive and accessible sports for both Syracuse University and community members,” says SU student Jordan Feldman ’15 of the event planning committee and board member of the Disability Student Union. “Everybody should have the opportunity to experience the joy of sport, and OrangeAbility gives that opportunity to anyone willing to play. After working with so many different people to make this event possible, I cannot wait to play with them and anybody else who wants to be apart of all the sports offered on Sunday.”
OrangeAbility allows people who are able-bodied or have a disability to enjoy sports that are tailored for a variety of players. The afternoon activities will celebrate an array of disability cultures and identities, providing a safe space for all to feel welcome and comfortable. It is an event that highlights the legacy and growing vibrancy of the disability community on and off the hill.
“We’ve designed another event with both inclusion and fun at the core,” says SU Kauffman Entrepreneurship Engagement Fellow Eddie Zaremba, member of the event planning committee, and co-founding past president of the Disability Student Union. “With this year’s expo we are building on past successes, and collaborating more with on and off campus resources to make this event even more meaningful to seasoned adaptive sport enthusiasts, or someone rolling around in a sports chair or hand-cycle for the first time. Community includes us all, so come out and play.”
Community partner Move Along will be facilitating the accessible athletic events, joined by other local organizations that specialize in an array of accessible sports. Part of the organization’s ongoing work is to provide the necessary resources through athletics to enable youth and adults to excel as persons in society.
“During the past five years, Move Along has successfully established itself as a sustainable organization to help those with physical limitations meet their maximum potential in our communities through the use of sports as a way to provide mentoring, coaching and teaching of life skills,” says Gregory Callen, founder and executive director of Move Along. “Partnerships with the Disability Cultural Center and Syracuse University allow us to maximize resources in our community to improve the quality of life of everyone in our society, as the target population for inclusion athletics is everyone!”
Additional co-sponsors of the event include the Disability Student Union, Recreation Services and the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee.
Two American Sign Language Interpreters (ASL) will be on site. Free parking is available at the venue. For more information, questions or additional accommodations needed, email Zaremba at orangeability@gmail.com.
