Move United Seeking Host Cities For National Adaptive Sports Competition
Move United, the national leader in community adaptive sports, will bring together two championship events from its past beginning in 2023. Celebrating the end of the summer sport season, The Hartford Nationals will encompass both an adult and youth component. The weeklong event, which occurs annually in July, is for youth, adult, and masters athletes with a physical, visual, and/or intellectual impairment. As a result, Move United is seeking a host city and sports partner for the 2023 competition and beyond.
The Hartford Nationals have moved to a 2-year cycle for the host city. It is the intention of the organization to move the event around the country every 2 years between the West, East, and Central regions. The 2021 and 2022 events will be hosted in Colorado. A strong host city will be able to deliver an outstanding event for athletes, coaches, family members, supporters, and the general public. Host cities should have accessible venues and hotel properties, be attractive as a vacation destination, and is an affordable location for families attending the weeklong national championship event.
This annual event dates back to 1957 and the junior portion of the championship is now the largest annual multi-sport event for young athletes with physical, visual, and/or intellectual impairments in the United States. It is expected that over 450 plus athletes, 100 coaches, 500 volunteers, as well as families, friends, and spectators will bring the event to life in 2023.
Move United is an affiliate of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. This event serves as an opportunity for individuals to advance along the athlete pipeline that may one day lead them to the Paralympic Games. Athletes must be classifiable under the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) classification code and must meet qualifying standards according to classification and age divisions in order to be eligible to compete. The sports contested at the event include archery, paratriathlon, para powerlifting, shooting, swimming, and track and field. International athletes and/or teams are welcome with a dual medal system utilized.
“Sports have the power to change the world, shifting the narrative from disabled to this abled,” said Susan Rossi, director of competitions for Move United. “We are seeking progressive sport cities and local organizations who want to join the movement and host this national competition.”
Move United will evaluate bids based on various criteria, including accessible venues and hotel properties, experience in sport event management, support of the local community, a strong local organizing committee (LOC) with the ability to generate local event sponsorships and resources, sophisticated venues and hotel properties, and affordability of the event for participants.
Bids for 2023-2024, 2025-2026, and 2027-2028 will be accepted until September 15, 2021. Prospective hosts can check out the full Request for Proposals at https://moveunitedsport.org/juniornationals.
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