US Sit Volleyball team at Times Square

A story submitted by Dianne Tinelli. New York, New York to Women's Sporting News, reminds us that inclusive sport is good for everyone:

I have to share my favorite lunch hour with the world. First of all, I’d like to thank Women’s Sporting News, @WSN247, for informing me that there was a 100 Days Celebration in Times Square for the Summer Olympics.

I walked to the event today at lunchtime and as soon as I integrated with the crowd on Broadway, I saw the U.S. Women’s Paralympic Sit Volleyball Team. I walked to the front, heard a man ask who’d like to participate and quickly raised my hand. He chose me and I practically ran through the crowd to get on the platform. The Paralympians waved me over to the other side of the net. I practically dropped my camera and papers I was carrying on to the sideline and sat down. They all said hi with big smiles on their faces. I had a permanent smile from then on. 

I was on the blue team with teammates Monique Burkland, Nichole Millage, Katie Holloway, Nicky Nieves and a little boy named Henry. Did I just call these amazing athletes teammates? Wow! We were facing the red team of Brenda Maymon, Army vet Kari Miller, Heather Erickson, Lora Webster and two lucky participants, like me. They told us to make sure not to lift our butt off the ground. My first serve didn’t make it over the net, but they told me to serve again. I didn’t realize without my legs, I needed to really pound the ball. So, I punched it and served an ace! OK, so I hit it in front of the non-athlete. On the next serve I aimed for a real athlete and we volleyed a few times and scored again. We won the game 15 to I don’t know what. Does it really matter? I PLAYED SIT VOLLEYBALL WITH THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL ATHLETES I’VE EVER MET. They gave me high-fives, compliments and of course, their smiles. They THANKED ME for playing! I thanked them and wished them luck. I didn’t want to get off the platform. I was in complete amazement.

Afterward, they played amongst themselves, then put their prosthetic limbs on and lined up near the Road to London bus for autographs. Of course, I had to get on the line to get their autographs. When I got there, some of them thanked me again for playing with them. They signed autographs and I took pictures of them before leaving.My day was made. No-one or nothing was going to bother me after that very inspirational moment I was so fortunate to share with the U.S. Women’s Paralympic Sit Volleyball Team - my new heroes. Of course, I will never forget it or them. I can’t wait to watch them compete this summer. I floated back to work after a few tweets and phone calls.Thank you again WSN for always keeping me in the know!

More on Jim Provenzano's new novel

When we wrote earlier about the latest book by our friend Jim Provenzano, winner of the FGG Legacy Award in 2007 for his sports writing, we forgot that Dan Woog has written a fine review of the book in The Rainbow Times. Here's an extract: It may not be the traditional format for a winning novel: cross-country running. Lacrosse. Wheelchair basketball. Gay romance. But Jim Provenzano’s Every Time I Think of You works. The author – whose previous books focus on wrestling, AIDS and the lust-filled world of bicycle messengers – has crafted a novel about young adults that may not make the list of most librarians’ recommended “young adult novels.” There’s a bit too much sex – gay sex – in this one for some educators’ tastes. And it’s graphic. Yet ­Every Time does what good literature should. It opens readers’ eyes, minds and hearts to corners of the world they may never have realized existed. Confession: Although I am a high school soccer coach, I’d never thought about the impact a devastating sports accident could have on an athlete. Especially one who was in a torrid, but meaningful, gay relationship. The story is set in Pennsylvania, in 1978. Reid Conniff is a high school student serious about running, academics and masturbating in the woods. One wintry afternoon, near his favorite tree, he comes across (in every sense of the term) Everett Forester, a privileged, lacrosse-playing boarding school boy. As is true in most adolescents’ lives (and every novel), stuff happens. There is sexual exploration (Everett has had a lot more experience than Reid), the resultant embarrassment of getting caught, and the arc of both lovers trying to be at the same place at the same time (emotionally as well as physically). There is not, however, a lot of angst about being gay. Provenzano set this story – and _PINS_, his wrestling book – in what he calls “a bubble of time.” Stonewall had already jump-started the gay rights movement, but AIDS had not yet reared its ugly head. The author calls those years “a halcyon moment, when for a teenager it was not horrible to be gay.” Keep reading HERE.

Audio / John Amaechi promotes initiative to have disabled athletes play with others

John Amaechi is a Gay Games Ambassador, but he's also an ambassador for the Special Olympics in the UK:

 NBA Star and Special Olympics GB's ambassador John Amaechi was interviewed on BBC London radio Breakfast Show [listen below].

He talked about Unified Sports, an inclusive programme where athletes with learning disabilities practise and play together on the same teams with people without learning disabilities. Read more: HERE.


More from Branding Magazine:

Special Olympics GB is Great Britain’s largest sports training and competition program which transforms the lives of young people and adults with learning disabilities through the power of sport.

The Unified Sports is run by the charity Special Olympics GB and supported by Coca‑Cola Great Britain. It will run in Great Britain as a series of coaching and competitive sports of all types throughout sport centres, clubs and communities all over the country.

Former NBA star John Amaechi OBE a Special Olympics GB ambassador and England Commonwealth Games medallist, visited Tower Hamlets College in East London to take part in the first Unified Basketball session of this initiative.

John said, “Unified Sports programmes will play a valuable role in breaking down the barriers to sport that exist for people with learning disabilities enabling them to compete in popular sports on the same team as those without learning disabilities; and in an environment that promotes equality and inclusion. With such a great range of sports to choose from now everyone can get involved. As we’ve shown here today, it can be a lot of fun.”

The growth of the Unified Sports program this year forms part of the long-term partnership between Coca‑Cola Great Britain and Special Olympics GB, which aims to make a range of sports more accessible for people with learning disabilities, empowering them and their families to take an active and more confident role in their communities.

Karen Wallin, CEO Special Olympics said:“With such an exciting year of sport ahead, young people around the country are being inspired to take up new sports, but for the 1.2million people in the UK with learning disabilities it’s not always easy to take part as they can often encounter exclusion and discrimination. The model of Unified Sports – bringing together athletes with and without learning disabilities – has been proven to overcome these difficulties and promote social inclusion. With many team sports to choose from, the Unified Sports programme will offer fun and fitness for thousands more people.”

Tower Hamlets College was chosen as the venue for the launch because of its commitment to disability sports. Last year the College launched the FE Special Games, a disability sports tournament, which was sponsored by Special Olympics GB.