Transfers + Adaptive Sports

Dear Nicholas,

Thank you for being patient in waiting for my reply the last couple weeks. I have been very busy with soccer. First, we had an international tournament with teams from Canada. We all had a lot of fun. You can read about our international tournament if you want to. Then, we had more games against a local city. I had to play some games and even coach my Division 2 team all weekend. It has been a lot of fun, but also exhausting!

When I get into a car I need to have someone carry me from my wheelchair to the car. Most of my friends have vans that have ramps built-in. In these cases, I can drive my wheelchair up the ramp. There are spots in the vans to tie my wheelchair to the floor, like seat belts for the wheelchair.

At a fair it is very similar. Most rides I will need my friends or family to carry me on or off. Some rides have spots for wheelchairs to ride. They will have a ramp leading to these spots. This is more common on a large merry-go-round.

I cannot lift a bowling ball because it is much too heavy for me. At bowling alleys, many of them have accessible bowling. There is a piece of equipment they put at the front of the lane. It looks like a big ramp! Someone puts the ball at the top of the ramp and then I can position the ramp to angle it to hit the pins. When I'm ready, instead of throwing the ball, I push the ball off the ramp and it rolls down the lane!

There are many ways to adapt or change a sport for people with disabilities to participate. You just need to be creative and inclusive!