Jeannie Reiner Senter
2016
Jeannie was one of the true pioneers of American adaptive sport — a teacher, coach, official, and classifier whose service spanned more than five decades, beginning in 1964, when organized disability sport was still in its infancy. Over her extraordinary career, she volunteered across five states, helping to build the foundation for programs that continue to serve athletes today.
Her journey began at the National Wheelchair Games under the National Wheelchair Athletic Association (NWAA), where she first volunteered. By 1966, Jeannie was among a small but visionary group of volunteers at Queens College (New York) who launched one of the earliest recreation programs for children with disabilities. Around that same time, she taught one of the few Adapted Physical Education courses in all of New York City, at Walton High School, demonstrating both her teaching talent and her deep belief in inclusive education.
While pursuing her graduate degree in Physical Therapy in Ohio, Jeannie joined the Cleveland Comets Wheelchair Track & Field Team, serving as a field events coach. Her leadership quickly earned recognition — she was selected to join the staff at the 1971 Pan American Games in Kingston, Jamaica, and just two years later, she became the first woman in NWAA history to serve on an international coaching staff, representing Team USA at the 1973 Stoke Mandeville Games in England.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jeannie combined her expertise in therapy, education, and sport to train hundreds of professionals, parents, and volunteers on the power of adaptive athletics. She lectured and consulted across disciplines — from Physical Therapy and Nursing to Vocational Rehabilitation and Medicine — helping health professionals understand the therapeutic and developmental value of sport.
Her impact extended into North Carolina, where she worked with St. Andrews College to start one of the region’s first wheelchair track and field meets. In typical Jeannie fashion, she not only trained volunteers on a Saturday — most of whom had never even seen wheelchair competition — but also ran the meet the next day.
In 1988, Jeannie helped develop the youth sports program at Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood, Alabama, alongside her friend and legendary athlete Randy Snow. She volunteered there for many years, coaching field events and mentoring young athletes. Her influence continued to grow internationally — she served as field coach for the National Junior Team that competed in Australia (2003), and was one of six coaches chosen for the first Paralympic Youth Academy held in Athens (2004) in conjunction with the Paralympic Games.
After moving to Georgia in 2005, Jeannie remained deeply active in the adaptive sports community. She officiated and classified at Junior Nationals and regional meets, ran table tennis events, and became a nationally certified table tennis classifier. Her dedication and leadership were recognized with induction into the Dixie Wheelchair Athletic Association Hall of Fame (2010) and the Ted Kaplan Award (2012) — two of the highest honors in the field.
Even after retiring from national events in 2016, Jeannie continued to officiate and classify at regional meets, staying close to the athletes and communities she helped nurture.
Across more than fifty years of service, Jeannie’s work touched every corner of adaptive sport — from the classroom to the track, from grassroots events to international stages. She was a teacher, mentor, and barrier-breaker, remembered as one of the most enduring and influential figures in the history of wheelchair and adaptive athletics in America.