Access & Opportunity
Sports Thrive When the People Who Play them are Heard.
Move United is committed to an adaptive sports ecosystem that includes people with disabilities at every level: athletes, coaches, officials, staff, and decision-makers. That means listening to the community we serve, acting on what we hear, and holding ourselves accountable to it. No inspiration narratives. Just sports.
Our Foundation
Built with the community: Programs and policies are shaped with input from the athletes and member organizations who use them.
Access first: Physical, financial, and geographic barriers get removed before anything gets marketed.
Local to national: 250+ member organizations connect neighborhood programs to national policy work.
Accountability, not optics: The Access & Opportunity Advisory Council reviews our own commitments and reports on them every year.
Access & Opportunity Advisory Council
The Access & Opportunity Advisory Council brings leaders from the disability and adaptive sports community into policies and procedures decision-making and holds the organization to its commitments.
What the Council Does
- Reviews Move United content, policies, and procedures through an accessible, inclusive, and equitable lens
- Identifies and recommends best practices for the organization and its member network
- Provides resources, learning opportunities, and professional development for staff, board, volunteers, and partners
- Advises the Executive Director on where to invest financial, operational, and human resources long term
Who Serves
Nine to fifteen members, most from outside Move United. The council seeks people with disabilities, current athletes, adaptive sports coaches and program administrators, and professionals with a background in access and inclusion. Members serve three-year terms and meet virtually every two weeks. The council is chaired by Move United’s Director of People & Culture with an external co-chair elected by members.
Get Involved
Nominations, including self-nominations, are open on a rolling basis. Not ready to join? Send the council an idea, a barrier you keep running into, or a state law or local policy we should be tracking.
Barriers We're Breaking
- Geographic access: Rural isolation & transportation
- Cost: Affordability & equipment gaps
- Information: Finding programs & support
- Physical access: Facilities, courts & venues
- Digital access: Websites, registration & communications
- Family Support: Caregiving & advocacy navigation
- Systemic gaps: Policy & funding gatekeeping
Athletes & Community Members
Find a program near you and join a sport built around what you want to do.
Partners & Institutions
Work with Move United to expand adaptive sport access nationwide.
See our sponsors and partnership tiers
Start a partnership conversation
Educators & Advocates
Bring adaptive sports into schools, clinics, and community programs.
- Move United Education Hub
Courses and learning modules for sport providers, including the introductory inclusion course.
Visit the Education Hub - Move United Inclusive Playbook
Move United’s guide to building inclusive programs.
View the playbook - Sport Protection Training
Required training and screening resources for member organizations.
View training resources - Inclusion Training for Member Organizations
Sessions are coming soon. Request a training and we’ll reach out when dates are set.
Military & Veteran Community
Programs built specifically around service members with
physical disabilities.
- Find a military program
Move United Warfighters
Warfighter resources and program directory
VA Adaptive Sports and Arts
DoD Warrior Care, for active-duty service members - Connect with a coordinator
Veterans: many VA medical centers have an Adaptive Sports Coordinator. Find your local VA →
Service members: contact your branch’s Warrior Care program (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or SOCOM) through DoD Warrior Care - See eligibility
Move United Warfighters application
VA Paralympic training allowance - Compete
DoD Warrior Games - For organizations serving veterans
VA Adaptive Sports Grant Program
Training & professional development
- Inclusion training for member organizations:
Sessions offered through the Access & Opportunity Advisory
Council.
Coming Soon - Inclusion in Sport: Introductory Course
An introductory course for sport providers on including people with disabilities in existing programs. It covers fundamentals, disability awareness, program structure, and essential trainings.
Community partners
- Partner organizations: Disability, veteran, and inclusion organizations Move United works alongside. Placeholder.
View partners
- Suggest a resource:
Know a guide, toolkit, or training the community should have? Send it to the council.
Submit a resource
Federal Law & Rules
ADA Title II web & mobile app accessibility rule: DOJ. Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Compliance April 26, 2027 (population 50,000+) and April 26, 2028 (smaller entities).
First steps guide on ADA.gov
Section 504 & the 2013 Dear Colleague Letter: Office for Civil Rights. Equal opportunity in extracurricular athletics.
Know your rights summary
ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines, 36 CFR Part 1191: Full regulatory text, current through August 2026.
Read on eCFR
38 U.S.C. 521A, VA adaptive sports authority: Statutory basis for the VA Adaptive Sports Grant Program.
VA program page
State Policy Trackers
So Every BODY Can Move, 28×28 campaign: Goal: 28 state laws by LA 2028. 15 states enacted, 60+ bills introduced across 25 states.
State-by-state map
AOPA state legislative alerts: Live tracker of prosthetic and orthotic insurance bills by state.
Current state issues
State of the States: PE & physical activity policy: Codified state-level PE and activity policy review, all states and territories.
Read the report
Texas interscholastic adaptive sports law: One of only three states (with Maryland and Maine) with disability interscholastic sports legislation.
Background and bill text
Design & Facility Standards
Accessibility guidelines for recreation facilities: U.S. Access Board. Sports facilities, pools, play areas, boating, golf.
Download the summary (PDF)
Outdoor developed areas: trails, beaches, camping: U.S. Access Board, Chapter 10. Applies to new and altered federal facilities.
Read the guide
Public right-of-way accessibility guidelines: Sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, on-street parking, shared use paths.
Overview and final rule
Funding & Grants
VA Adaptive Sports Grant Program: Up to $16 million available, subject to federal funds. Open to nonprofits with large-scale adaptive sports experience.
Opportunity listing on Grants.gov
National Veterans Sports Programs & Special Events: VA office administering adaptive sports and therapeutic arts funding.
Program details
Data & Research
Disability Impacts All of Us: CDC. More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults have a disability. Updated May 2026.
View the infographic
Disability and Health Data System: CDC. State-level disability prevalence and health indicators from BRFSS.
Explore the data
Physical activity guidance for people with disabilities: CDC. 150 minutes per week of moderate activity, including wheeling and adaptive sport.
Read the guidance
National physical activity rates by disability status: CDC, April 2026. 47.2% of all U.S. adults met aerobic guidelines in 2024; 49.8%
among adults without disabilities.
See the findings
Have something to add?
Send us an event, program, policy win, or resource for Spark Local — or sign up for updates on national policy and access initiatives.
Submit to Spark Local
Sign up for updates
National Policy Landscape
Federal and state activity the Access & Opportunity Council is tracking. Updated quarterly.
VA Adaptive Sports Grants
Federal, 2026
New federal funding stream Federal, 2026
The VA made up to $16 million available in 2026 for adaptive sports programs serving Veterans and service members with disabilities. Move United member organizations can take part through Move United's partner application.
Read the VA announcement
ADA Title II web accessibility deadlines extended
Federal, 2026
The Department of Justice gave state and local governments, including parks and recreation departments and public schools, one more year to make websites and apps meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Large entities now have until April 2027, and smaller ones until April 2028.
Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines
State, 2025
Federal, 2023
The U.S. Access Board's final rule sets accessibility standards for sidewalks, crossings, and transit stops: the routes athletes use to reach a venue.
Read about the rule