NDSA National Sports Festival for Athletes with a Disability Returns

Editor's Note: Jennifer Fritschi, A UConn AT Master's graduate, drives up to New London for this festival every summer with a van full of athletes from Alabama. Jennifer is Professional Development Coordinator for Alabama's Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology Project. She recently wrote an article for the ConnSENSE Bulletin on Closing The Gap:
http://www.connsensebulletin.com/artjenctg.html

The NDSA National Sports Festival will bring hundreds of athletes with disabilities from across the United States to Connecticut College, New London, CT, to compete in national championships, as well as junior and open competitions, June 21-26, 2004.

The NDSA National Sports Festival, affiliated with the National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA), is recognized as a premier host of athletic competitions for athletes with a physical disability. Consistent with this, the NDSA National Sports Festival has been named host of the 2005 CP-ISRA (Cerebral Palsy International Sports & Recreation Association) World Championships. In 2000, it hosted the U.S. Paralympic Team track & field trials for the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

The nation's biggest event for athletes with physical disabilities, the NDSA National Sports Festival offers excitement and challenge to all participants and draws recognition and involvement from several countries. Events focus on showcasing talent, as well as providing opportunity for competition against others of similar ability.

"Participation in the NDSA National Sports Festival is one of the best ways for all individuals with disabilities to connect with peers, be challenged, and learn about all that is possible through athletic competition," said NDSA National Sports Festival Director Bill Wilkie. "We strive to meet the needs of the elite athletes while providing competition for new, often young athletes who travel long distances to see first-hand how others of similar age and ability perform. The event is an eye-opening experience for many athletes, parents and coaches."

The National Disability Sports Alliance and the NDSA National Sports Festival provide athletic opportunities for athletes with physical disabilities, just as the Special Olympics movement provides similar opportunities for people with mental retardation. Athletes competing in the NDSA National Sports Festival typically have such disabilities as spinal cord injury, amputation, visual impairment, cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury.

The 2004 NDSA National Sports Festival will feature the NDSA National Championships with competition in Boccia, Bowling, Cross Country, Swimming, Track, Field, Powerlifting, and Indoor Wheelchair Soccer. There will also be Adult and Junior National Invitationals featuring competition in Track, Field, Boccia, Bowling, and Powerlifting.

In addition, this year's Festival will feature an International Invitational, an invitation-only competition in which the top three world-ranked athletes in Track, Field, and Powerlifting will compete to decide who is the best in the world.

Competition venues for the NDSA National Sports Festival will utilize the first-rate athletic facilities of Connecticut College, including the Connecticut College pool, field house, Dawley Field, Silfen Track, and the 1941 Room.

Major sponsors of the 2004 NDSA National Sports Festival include Mohegan Sun, U.S. Food Service/Norwich, and Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics. The NDSA National Sports Festival is also supported by the Village Print Shop, Bristol Meyers-Squibb, Rehabilitation Hospital of Connecticut, the Tolland Fund, Inc., SNET Pioneers, Hospital for Special Care, Banana Boat, and Coca Cola.

National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA) is responsible for conduct and administration of approved sports in the United States. NDSA formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships in twelve sports, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. NDSA is a CBO (Community Based Organization) member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

Admission to the National Sports Festival is free for the public.  For more information visit www.nationalsportsfestival.org or www.ndsaonline.org.