Carrie Durso, the Disability Advocacy Student Coalition vice president, had not particularly enjoyed playing sports before she started having mobility issues.
Due to a genetic condition that causes her joints to be unstable and painful, marketing sophomore Durso uses an electric wheelchair to get around campus. Adaptive sports, which have modifications that make them more accessible for disabled players, changed her relationship to physical activity.
“When I was younger, I tried all the different sports and I was not ever any good at it,” Durso said. “In college, I started playing adaptive sports and it was really beautiful getting to see like, ‘Oh, I’m good at this. Oh, this isn’t the most painful thing on the planet for me.’”
Traditionally hosted by the Disability Cultural Center, last Thursday’s Adapted Sports Night at Caven-Clark Courts was led by the Disability Advocacy Student Coalition — a student organization — instead, as the center is going through a leadership change and is less active, Durso said.
The event aims to celebrate the disability community and fill the gap in campus adaptive sport options by bringing adaptive sports to UT.
“I really hope that some of our able-bodied community members get to just see a glimpse into life as a disabled person,” Durso said.
Austin Blackhawks, representing the National Beep Baseball Association for the blind and visually impaired, Achilles International for adaptive running and the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation, which provided wheelchairs for the night, partnered with the coalition for the event. Everyone was welcome to try.
Andy Porter, a volunteer with the Achilles International Austin chapter, said serving as an able-bodied guide for disabled athletes was a rewarding experience.
“It was an incredible opportunity to go out and be social and meet new people. (Helping) others, obviously, is the most important thing, but also (to) be active, which is really unique,” Porter said.
Lilly Chin, an assistant electrical and computer engineering professor, was eager to try all the different activities. She played beep baseball, where players track the ball through sounds. It required a lot of teamwork, she said.
“The pitcher, catcher, and you are all working together to try to hit it,” Chin said.
Government sophomore Shawn Gifford, who played wheelchair basketball for the first time, said it required more shoulder strength compared to traditional basketball.
“This requires so much shoulder strength compared to basketball,” Gifford said. “You can’t aim near as well, so you have to be a lot more precise…every shot felt like a half-court shot.”
