Move United Recognizes Darlene Hunter and Phil Galli for Contributions to Adaptive Sports

Move United, the national leader in community-based sports and recreation for individuals with disabilities, recently recognized Darlene Hunter and Phil Galli for their significant contributions to adaptive sports in the United States.

Hunter, a 3x Paralympian and Gold Medalist for the U.S. Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, was presented with the Jan Elix Award. Hunter was four years old when suffered a spinal cord injury as part of a tragic accident, but would discover adaptive sports just a few short years later through para track & field. She was an excellent wheelchair racer and started representing the US internationally at the age of 16.

While attending the University of Arizona, Hunter switched to the sport of wheelchair basketball. In addition to playing at the collegiate level, she would represent Team USA in three Paralympic Games, winning gold in 2016 and bronze in 2020. In addition to being a player, she has also mentored and coached other athletes by heading the Lady Mavericks Wheelchair Basketball Team in Dallas and hosting an annual women’s wheelchair development camp out of the University of Texas-Arlington. The impact she has had on the court is huge, but the impact she is making off the court is even bigger. “Darlene’s biggest contribution comes from her passion to get juniors involved in sports,” said Paul Johnson with the Southwest Wheelchair Athletic Association and who nominated Hunter for the award. “Whether it is wheelchair basketball, track & field, swimming or tennis, Darlene’s never-ending passion makes the world better for kids.”

Hunter has earned a PhD and is an assistant professor at University of Texas, where she has been a driving force in inclusion.  She has been the recipient of the Team USA Hope & Service Award and been named a Toyota Everyday Hero by Toyota and ESPNW.

The Jan Elix Award is given in honor of a dedicated woman that made an impact as an athlete, coach, board member, mentor and long-standing member of the Junior Nationals Committee for decades before her passing.  The award recognizes a coach, organizer, official and/or classifier that display’s Jan’s core values and positive characteristics. The recipient of the award must have dedicated their time and effort to the expansion and growth of competitive sports for athletes with physical disabilities, and have a long-standing commitment to the vision and future of competitive sports for athletes with physical disabilities and/or visual impairments.

Galli was presented with the Jim Winthers Volunteer Award for dedicating over 25 years to the sports of para track and field and swimming as a volunteer coach with Children’s Specialized Hospital Lightning Wheels in New Jersey and as a track and field meet referee at the Move United Junior Nationals and Adaptive Track and Field USA Adult Championships. Galli has also been a track & field referee at the Department of Defense Warrior Games, and a para referee for the elite athlete division of the NYC Marathon. He has served as a member of International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) Federation International Games Committee, as chairman of Adaptive Track and Field USA, and chair of the US Paralympics’ Para Officials Committee.

”I am very grateful to receive this award,” Galli said. “I am, as many of my peers, not in this to receive awards.  I do what I do for many reasons but these 3 are the top of the list:  First, to pay it forward for all Jessica (Galli’s daughter) and her racing peers that have gotten so much from para sport. Also, to not let the next generation solve the same issues the past generations had to fight. And third, to grow the sport, so that Para track and Field is available to all within 50 miles from their home.”

The Jim Winthers Volunteer Award recognizes life-time contributions and significant achievements in furthering the mission of Move United, a national nonprofit organization whose 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. Nominees for this award must have contributed a minimum of 10 years of service to Move United or a Move United member organization. The award is named in honor of Jim Winthers, a World War II veteran who was a member of the U.S. 10th Mountain Division- the Skiing 10th- an elite group specifically trained for alpine warfare. He eventually became a pioneer in teaching adaptive skiing, beginning with two friends who became amputees in the war. Winthers taught them to ski on one leg using techniques he saw in Europe. Winthers, with the support of other veterans, founded a precursor organization to Move United in 1967.

To learn more about Move United’s Adaptive Sports Awards, including a list of past award recipients, visit https://www.moveunitedsport.org/sports/adaptive-sports-awards/.