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| Founded | 1993 |
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| Founder | Legacy organization of the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games |
| Type | non-profit 501(c)(3) organization |
| Location |
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| Website | BlazeSports Homepage |
BlazeSports America is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Decatur, Georgia, that provides sport and physical activity opportunities for youth and adults with physical disabilities.
BlazeSports America, Inc. was founded as the U.S. Disabled Athletes Fund, Inc. (USDAF). It was established in 1993 to become the legacy of the 1996 Paralympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1998, a model program was rolled out in Georgia in partnership with the Georgia Recreation and Park Association to bring community-based disability sports programs to communities across the state. The BlazeSports Georgia activities were funded, in part, by a grant from the State of Georgia. In 2002, in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association, BlazeSports launched a national program offered through BlazeSports clubs and affiliates. The organization now bears the name of the highly popular Atlanta Paralympic Games mascot, Blaze. BlazeSports America is a chapter of Disabled Sports USA.
BlazeSports America has quickly evolved into an extensive network local programs delivered in conjunction with community agencies and organizations. Sports camps, clinics, workshops, tournaments and competitions are offered by BlazeSports America throughout the year in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, BlazeSports America organizes the National Disability Sport Conference annually each spring to train coaches, officials, local service providers, and leaders in the field of Paralympic Sport.
Seven BlazeSports staffers traveled to Haiti in June 2011 to strengthen and support Haiti's programs for disabled athletes. [1]
BlazeSports' most prominent symbol is its mascot Blaze. Blaze is a phoenix, a mythical bird that rises from ashes to experience a renewed life. The phoenix appears in Egyptian, Arabian, Chinese, Russian and native American lore and in all instances symbolizes strength, vision, inspiration and survival.
The phoenix was an ideal mascot for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and later for BlazeSports America. It has long been the symbol of Atlanta’s rebirth after its devastation in the American Civil War. But most importantly, it is the personification of the will, perseverance and determination of youth and adults with physical disability to achieve full and productive lives.
Blaze, with his bright colors, height and broad wing span, reflects the traits, identified in a focus group of athletes with disability, as those they believed best represented the drive to succeed of persons with physical disability who pursue sports as recreation and as a competitive endeavor.
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have an able-bodied equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all around the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 100,000 events a year. Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee; however, unlike the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics World Games are not held in the same year nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million.
Sport Canada is a branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage that develops federal sport policy in Canada, provides funding programs in support of sport, and administers special projects related to sport. Its mission "to enhance opportunities for all Canadians to participate and excel in sport."
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
Powerchair football, also known as Power Soccer, is a variant of association football for people with physical disabilities. Players use specially designed powered wheelchairs in order to maneuver and kick/hit an oversized football. The game is played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court. Two teams of four players use powerchairs equipped with footguards to attack, defend, and spin-kick a 13-inch (330 mm) football in an attempt to score goals.
Australia was the host nation for the 2000 Summer Paralympics which was held in Sydney. Australia competed in the games between 18 and 29 October. The team consisted of 285 athletes in 18 sports with 148 officials. It was the country's largest ever Paralympic delegation to a Games. Australia has participated at every Summer Paralympic Games since its inception. Australia finished at the top of the medal tally with 63 gold, 39 silver and 47 bronze medals to total 149 medals for the games. This was the first time and the only time to date that Australia has finished on top of either an Olympic or Paralympic medal tally.
Paralympics Australia (PA) previously called the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) (1998–2019) is the National Paralympic Committee in Australia for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the preparation and management of Australian teams that participate at the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics.
At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Australia sent 11 athletes to compete against the other participating 42 nations. The delegation consisted of 3 sighted guides and 17 support staff. This was the largest delegation Australia had sent to a Winter Paralympics. Australia has participated in every winter Paralympics since its conception.
Robert Daniel Steadward, is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics. He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport. He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
World ParaVolley, formerly the World Organization Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD), is an international organization that is for people with physical disabilities. It is affiliated with the International Paralympic Committee(IPC). The World Organization Volleyball for Disabled was established in 1981 and was part of the International Sports Organization for Disabled (ISOD). In 1992 the WOVD became its own separate Organization in Barcelona, Spain. The WOVD Headquarters were also established in the Netherlands. The WOVD is responsible for managing and controlling the conduct of international volleyball competitions for men, women and youth. The WOVD also liaises with IPC (as an independent organisation) and with other organizations for people with or without disabilities. The organization adopted its present name World ParaVolley at its 2014 general assembly.
The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association is the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or vision impairment in the Australian state of Queensland.
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
Move United is an American non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of parasports among youths and adults with physical disabilities. The organization operates community parasports programs via over 150 local chapters across the country. Move United was formed in 2020 as a merger of two organizations; Disabled Sports USA, which was first founded in 1956 and based in Rockville, Maryland, and Adaptive Sports USA, a second organization founded in 1967. Move United is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. As of 2020, the organization operates programs serving 100,000 residents in 43 states. In 2020, the two organizations merged as Move United, introducing a new identity by Superunion. A goal was announced for the organization to serve 90% of the U.S. population with local programs by 2028, in time for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Para-swimming classification is a function-based classification system designed to allow for fair competition in disability swimming. The classes are prefixed with "S" for freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events, "SB" for breaststroke and "SM" for individual medley events. Swimmers with physical disabilities are divided into ten classes based on their degree of functional disability: S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9 and S10. The lower number indicates a greater degree of impairment. Those with visual impairments are placed in three additional classes: S11, S12 and S13. One more class, S14, is reserved for swimmers with intellectual impairment. A final class, S15, is for athletes with hearing loss.
Para-archery classification is the classification system for para-archery used to create a level playing field for archers with a different range of disabilities. Governance in the sport is through the International Archery Federation. Early classification systems for the sport were created during the 1940s and based on medical classification. This has subsequently changed to a functional mobility classification with the exception of blind archery.
Paralympic Shooting classification is the shooting classification in place for the Paralympic Games to help establish fair competition. Classification is governed by the International Paralympic Committee's IPC Shooting. While there are currently three classifications, there were originally five in international competitions. People with physical disabilities as defined by the International Paralympic Committee are eligible to compete.
Disability sport in Australia encompasses individuals with different disabilities, of all ages and skill levels from recreational to professional, participating in sport in Australia. The apex of disability sport in Australia is the Paralympics. Australia's participation at the Paralympics began with the inaugural 1960 Summer Paralympics and 1976 Winter Paralympics. Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.
Disabled sports in Spain started in the 1910s with the emergence of deaf sport. Blind sport began in the 1930s. Sport for people with physical disabilities began in the 1950s, and was primarily rehabilitative. The first major organization for disabled sports was created in 1968 at the direction of then president of the Spanish Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch. Spain competed at its first Paralympic Games that same year. ONCE became the official organization for organizing Spanish representation in international blind sport competitions in 1986. Spanish sport was restructured because of changes in law during the early 1990s, resulting in the creation of four new disability sport organizations and the Spanish Paralympic Committee. During the 1990s and 2000s, funding opportunities for disabled sports improved.
Cerebral palsy sport classification is a classification system used by sports that include people with cerebral palsy (CP) with different degrees of severity to compete fairly against each other and against others with different types of disabilities. In general, Cerebral Palsy-International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) serves as the body in charge of classification for cerebral palsy sport, though some sports have their own classification systems which apply to CP sportspeople.
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