Move United Serves as Pipeline to Paralympics

Sport showcases what’s possible for people with disabilities. It can also be a platform to fuel conversation and confront ignorance. There is no bigger opportunity to do this than the Paralympic Games. This year, NBCUniversal will feature an unprecedented 1,500 hours of programming around the Paris Paralympics. This includes three primetime broadcasts on NBC, at least 9 hours of daytime coverage on the USA Network on weekdays, and live action and programming both weekends on CNBC, plus hundreds of hours of streaming options on Peacock across all 22 Paralympic sports over the 12-day period. The Opening Ceremony takes place on August 28th and the event concludes September 8th.

 

Move United is an affiliate of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and has had a long history of being connected to the Paralympic movement. In fact, through our events and member network, Move United serves as a significant pipeline to the Paralympics, particularly for athletes in the United States. Of the Team USA athletes competing in Paris in 2024, 62% have some connection to Move United.

 

Of the 225 athletes (and guides) representing Team USA in Paris, 141 athletes have participated in a Move United program, event, or local member organization activity. Let’s get to know some of these athletes.

 

MOVE UNITED COMPETITION SANCTIONED COMPETITIONS

 

The largest connection Team USA athletes have to Move United is through the organization’s sanctioned competitions. Move United Sanctioned Competitions represent the best adaptive multi-sport competitive events in the United States and are sanctioned by both Move United and applicable National Governing Bodies (NGBs). Last year, over 30 sanctioned competitions in 24 states took place, providing thousands of adaptive athletes of all ages and performance levels the chance to compete, including Paralympians and wounded warfighters.

 

These sanctioned competitions also serve as a qualifying event for The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United, the largest, long-standing annual multi-sport event in the United States for youth with a physical, visual, and/or intellectual impairment who are classifiable under the International Paralympic Committee’s classification system. This weeklong national sport championship event hosted 4000 athletes in Hoover, Alabama back in July, with competition in sports such as archery, paratriathlon, powerlifting, shooting, swimming, and track and field. The 2025 event will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

A number of Paralympic athletes have used these sanctioned competitions or Move United Junior Nationals as a launching pad for their elite athlete journey. Paris athletes that have competed at The Hartford Nationals or another sanctioned competitions are  Beatriz Hatz, Catarina Guimaraes, Tracy Otto, Aaron Pike, Taylor Swanson, Susannah Scaroni, Hunter Woodhall, Rose Hollermann, Lauren Fields, Arelle Middleton, Jack O’Neil, Samantha Heyison, and many others.

 

MOVE UNITED’S MEMBER NETWORK

 

Three of the national teams competing in Paris practice at and are hosted by Move United member organizations. For example, the USA Wheelchair Rugby Team is hosted at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama. In addition, the men’s goalball teams are housed at Turnstone Center, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Last, but not least, the sitting volleyball teams are headquartered at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. In fact, at least 47 of the U.S. athletes are connected to Move United member organizations. Here are some of those connections:

 

Warfighter and Paralympic Silver Medalist Melissa Stockwell co-founded Dare2Tri, a Move United member organization based in Chicago, Illinois. Dare2Tri has served as a training ground for many para triathletes including Kendall Gretsch and Hailey Danz. Other member organizations that have been the home base for Team USA athletes include Angel City Sports (Ezra Frech), BlazeSports (Bailey Moody and McKenzie Coan), Courage Kenny (Chuck Aoki), Disabled Athlete Sports Association (Chuck Melton), GLASA (Sam Grewe, and Justin Phongsavanh), Kennedy Krieger Institute (Daniel Romanchuk and Tatyana McFadden), and ParaSport Spokane (Hannah Dederick and Jaleen Roberts).

 

MOVE UNITED GRANTS AND EVENTS

Paralympians Oksana Masters, Rose Hollermann, Sophia Herzog, Breanna Clark, Jessica Long, Mallory Weggemann, and Liza Corso have all attended and/or participated in other Move United events or activities.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, several athletes participated in Adapt-At-Home, Move United’s online program, including Wheelchair Basketball Player Courtney Ryan, Wheelchair Fencer Victoria Isaacson, Wheelchair Tennis Player Dana Mathewson, and Paratriathlon athlete Emelia Perry.

 

Over the years, Move United has provided grants to athletes, either for adaptive sports equipment, training, or other support. Some of those include swimmers Julia Gaffney, Ahalya Lettenberger, and Anastasia Pagonis, Wheelchair Tennis Player Casey Ratzlaff, and Track and Field athletes Hannah Dederick, Jenna Fesemyer, Jessica Heims, Ezra Frech, Desmond Jackson, Justin Phongsavanh, and Jay Taylor.

 

MOVE UNITED INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

 

At the end of 2023, Move United introduced an individual membership platform. Since then, over 2,000 people have signed up for the free or premium membership category, including Badminton Player Miles Krajewski, Powerlifter Bobby Body, Para Shooter YanXiao Gong, Paratri athletes Emma Meyers and Rachel Watts (Rhodes), Sitting Volleyball Players Nicole Nieves (one of the flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony) and Emma Schieck, Swimmer Matthew Torres, and Wheelchair Tennis Player Maylee Phelps.

 

If you want to learn more about any of the athletes highlighted above, as well as many others, then subscribe to Move United’s weekly adaptive sports podcast “Redefining Disability” at moveunitedsport.org/podcast. In addition, Move United magazine is one of the nation’s leading adaptive sports publications. Published three times a year, the magazine is offered free of charge. The Fall 2024 issue includes interviews with Track & Field athlete Jessica Heims and features the sport of cycling and para triathlon.

 

Founded in 1956, Move United is one of the largest national multi-sport, multi-disability organizations in the U.S. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to provide national leadership and opportunities for individuals with disabilities to develop independence, confidence, and fitness through participation in community sports, recreation and educational programs. Through a nationwide network of 245 local programs in 45 states and the District of Columbia, Move United serves over 125,000 youth, wounded warriors and adults each year.

 

We are excited about the opportunities that may come from the Paralympic Games as this singular event can help to educate our community and the general public at large about the power of sport and incite action that can lead us to a world where everyone’s included. The thirst and appetite for adaptive sports continues to grow.