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Program Details

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Activities Offered
  • Archery
  • Basketball
  • Boccia
  • Dance
  • Fitness
  • Football
  • Tennis
  • Various Recreational Activities
  • Various Sports
  • Water Skiing
Participants Served
  • Age range of participants: 5 to 21

Transportation
  • Accessible by Public Transportation: No

  • Transportation Provided by the Program: No

Notes

Like most youngsters, children with physical disabilities are full of enthusiasm and energy. At the Huntingdon College Super Sports, if they happen to use a wheelchair, braces or artificial limb, it attracts no more attention than a reliable pair of tennis shoes. The disabilities are as varied as the kids themselves, but the children share an insatiable desire to have fun, try new things, and prove abilities. This is the idea behind the Super Sports Program, where young people with physical disabilities can enjoy many activities so readily available to their able-bodied peers. Fun, fitness and athletic skill development are obvious benefits, but Super Sports also builds strength, endurance and coordination--traits that make it easier for a child with a disability to open heavy doors, help with family chores or to become more independent. Children learn to focus on their abilities and to welcome new challenges, on and off the courts. Equally important, Huntingdon College students take part in the program, not only to teach new skills, but to serve as positive role models. Exposure to college students who are attempting to better themselves educationally assists the children in developing a positive image of higher education and its benefits. The interaction with college students will serve him or her well as they set their own life goals.

SuperSports in Action Parents are part of the winning formula at Super Sports. Children with physical disabilities are often very dependent on their parents. Mom and Dad are also understandably protective of their young ones, especially when a disability is involved. At Super Sports, parental education helps parents support their children, without restraining them. Just as the children learn from interacting with one another, parents gain insight into how other families have dealt with similar challenges and concerns. Trained staff and volunteers at the Huntingdon College Super Sports Program encourage children to challenge their abilities in a structured, safe environment. The Program takes place in the Delchamps Gymnasium and on the Huntingdon College tennis courts. In addition, outdoor locations are used for seasonal adventure programming. The Huntingdon College Super Sports Program is for young people, ages 5-21, who have physical disabilities. Parents are encouraged to contact the Super Sports Program for an individual evaluation, since many sports and recreational activities can be adapted. The Super Sports Program welcomes volunteer participation. Adapted Recreation Archery Under normal circumstances, shooting the longbow is a six-step procedure. The steps, in order of occurrence, are assuming the correct stance, nocking the arrow, drawing the bowstring, aiming at the target, releasing the bowstring, and following through until the arrow makes contact with the target. One or more of these steps may be problematic and may require some modification in the archer's technique. Several assistive devices are available to aid the archer who has a disability. These include (1) the bow sling, commercially available from most sports shops, which helps stabilize the wrist and hand for good bow control; (2) the below-elbow amputee adapter device, which is held by the terminal end of the prosthesis and requires a slight rotation of the prosthesis to release the strong and the arrow. And (3) the wheelchair bowstringer, which consists of a post buried in the ground with two appropriately spaced bolts around which the archer places the bow to produce enough leverage to string it independently. Wheelchair football is gaining popularity for many disabled persons. The game is played on a hard, flat surface 30 by 60 yards and, with few exceptions, is very similar to touch football.

Rule modifications are as follows:

  • Each team is composed of six of the field players.
  • The ball carrier (not the wheelchair) must be touched above the knees with two hands simultaneously.
  • All players on the team are eligible to pass receivers.
  • Blocking by ramming the wheelchair into the opponent's wheelchair from a front angle is allowed, while blocking into the larger rear wheel constitutes clipping
  • A team must gain 15 instead of 10 yards for a first down.
  • Ball throwing is substituted for kicking, and the kicking team must announce this to the defensive team through the referee before breaking the huddle.
  • Extra point tries (which are taken from the 3yard line) earn 2 points for a successful run and 1 point for a successful pass.
Adapted Sport

In 1980 the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis (NFWT) was founded to develop and sponsor competition in that sport. The rules for wheelchair tennis are the same as for regular tennis except that the ball is allowed to bounce twice before being returned. The first bounce must land inbounds, while the second bounce may land either inbounds or out-of-bounds.

Other Variations and Modifications:

If mobility is a problem, the court size can be reduced to accommodate the disabled person. This might be accomplished by having players without disabilities defending the entire regulation court while players with disabilities defend only half of their court. It could likewise be accomplished by permitting players to strike the ball on the second bounce.

Wheelchair Basketball:

The National Wheelchair Basketball Association has also modified the game for people confined to wheelchairs.

These are the major rule modifications:
  • The wheelchair is considered part of the player.
  • Players must stay firmly seated in the chair at all times, especially during a jump ball.
  • Offensive players may not remain in the key more than five seconds.
  • Dribbling consists of simultaneously wheeling the chair and dribbling the ball (however, the player may not take more than two consecutive pushes without bouncing the ball.
  • Three or more pushes results in a traveling violation.
  • The ball is awarded to the other team if the footrest or anti-tip caster of the player's wheelchair touch the floor while the player has possession of the ball.
  • The feet (especially those with some remaining function) may not be used to aid the player at any time.
Track and Field:
Track and field competition are governed by the rules of The Athletic Congress. The NWAA sponsors a classed division for field events. Classes include 1A, 1B, 1C, II, III, IV, and V. All classes compete in 100-, 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-m races; Class 1A also competes in a 60-m race. Relays are run at 400-, 800-, and 1600-m distances. The open division competes at the same distances and also runs a 5000-m race. In field events, all classes compete in the discus, shot put, and javelin, except class 1A, which substitutes the club throw for the javelin event. Additionally, all classes compete in the pentathlon, which consists of five individual events. Adapted Program Wheelchair Dance:
Rhythmic movement and dance are important movement forms of communication and creative expression. Adapted dance is a modified dance curriculum using instruction designed to meet the unique needs of individuals. Basic rhythmic skills, such as locomotor and axial movements, are a prerequisite to successful dancing. Ballroom, folk, and square dances are important socialization and integration vehicles for students with disabilities. Water Skiing:
Opportunities for disabled persons to engage in waterskiing have been expanding for more than 20 years. Individuals who are blind or are amputees have skied in many clubs for years, and the development of the site ski (a sled-like device) and the ski seat opened the sport to people with paraplegia. In general, a strong back and strong legs are desirable for skiing, although many single-leg amputees and unilateral amputees ski well. Hydrotherapy was popularized as a way of treating and exercising people with a disability. The swimming pool is the only place where some youngsters with a disability can change their positions in space in any way. Released from the confines of their wheelchairs, straps, and braces, they find joy in wiggling from place to place in warm therapy pools. Not only is this activity physically helpful, particularly for the muscle and heart-lung systems, but improvement is highly measurable. The water may be employed as a place where children not only gain a heightened awareness of their bodies and their movement potentials but also can exercise. For centuries, forms of hydrotherapy have been used to exercise and relax the people with a disability. Swimming Swimming, in actuality, is moving independently through the water, and as so defined, it is a skill within reach of most people. Some general benefits of swimming are the same for all people, both people with a disability and without a disabled. These benefits include improved cardiovascular fitness, increased muscle strength and flexibility, and improved general physiological function. While these benefits help all participants, they may be of much greater importance to a person with a disability, who may have a functional deficit in one of these areas. They may also be more readily achieved in the aquatic environment. Weight Training & Fitness Maintaining upper body musculature is a highly important goal for wheelchair users. Without adequate muscular strength and endurance, many of these persons will find it difficult to perform activities of daily living. This, in turn, will make them more dependent on others for assistance, creating a feeling of frustration and perhaps even anger or depression. Boccia Rules of the Game
  • Players are classified as CP Class 1 or CP Class 2L (kickers). Players may be assisted by one aide, who must remain seated at least 2 meters behind the playing box in a designated area. This aide may only come forward and assist if visibly requested by the player to do so. These aides perform tasks such as giving the player a ball or stabilizing a chair. Players classified as CP Class 2 are not eligible for assistance by an aide.
  • Competitors must be classified as eligible to play in Individual C1C2 divisions. A team must include at least one C1 player. Players who use an assistive device are not eligible for team play. Each team is allowed one aide who must abide by the rules as stated for Individual C1.
  • Match Format: Individual Divisions A match consists of four ends except in circumstances of a tiebreak. Each player initiates tow ends with control of the jack ball alternating between players. Each player receives six colored balls. The home side throwing red balls will occupy box 3, and the away side throwing the blue balls will occupy box 4.
    Pairs A match consists of four ends except in circumstances of a tiebreak. Each player initiates one end with the control of the jack ball passing in numerical order from throwing box 2 to 5. Each player receives three balls. The home side throwing the red balls occupy boxes 2, and 4 and the away side throwing blue balls occupy boxes 3 and 5.
  • Team. A match consists of six ends except in circumstances of a tiebreak. Each player initiates one end with the control of the jack ball passing in numerical order from throwing box 1 to 6. Each player receives two balls. The home side throwing the red balls occupy boxes 1,3, and 5 and the away side throwing blue balls occupy boxes 2,4, and 6.