What I Have Learned

 What I Have Learned

At the beginning of the semester I believed I knew a lot about disabled sports. After the first couple weeks it became evident to me that I had a lot to learn, and think about. I was able to learn a lot about the history and the start of the Paralympics. Learning about the beginning of the Paralympics was very interesting. The first game originated as wheelchair archery for injured service men, and women. The purpose of these games, originally named “Stoke Mandeville Games”, was to bring hope to veterans who were injured in the ongoing war. This was by far my favorite topic covered in this class. It made me think a lot about how the Paralympics has evolved, and how it has continued to have a positive effect on the world. 

The most shocking thing I learned about was the scandals during the Paralympics, and the Paralympics and Special Olympics being separate. I at first believed the Paralympics, and Special Olympics were different parts of the same organization. Hearing about the scandals was extremely disheartening, however it has caused for stronger classification system to be made

Throughout the class, each week has reinforced the importance of sports for people with disabilities. It has taught me the great impact playing sports can have on people with disabilities. It has also made me think about the impact society has had on people with disabilities, and how society can be the ones limiting people with disabilities. Whether it’s physically with not having ramps, or doors that are handicap accessible, or not appropriately teaching about disabilities. Often society views people with disabilities in the wrong way, such as having something “wrong” with them. This comes from a lack of understanding, and experience. If people were taught about disabilities they would be much more understanding, and not create an ignorant community.

Moving forward I have the opportunity to promote the things I have learned in this class. As the President of Unified Sports at Stockton, I have the ability to promote disabled sports immediately. I will continue to promote Stockton Unified Sports, but also get the Stockton community engaged more with Stockton Unified Sports. Giving more information about important events such as Unified Night, The Unified Cup, and important information about how to get involved with Unified Sports would greatly help promote the club, and disabled sports. Another way I can promote disabled sports is through more social interactions. For example at the end of our last practice this season we held a pizza party, where all athletes and partners got to relax, and eat free food. This was a big success, and caused greater friendships, and connections within the team.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Real Olympics"

Image
 Kyle  Jones The Real Olympics Doctor Ludwig Guttman, known as the “Father of the Paralympics” referred to the Paralympics as “the real Olympics”. He said this because he believed that the Paralympics were a better example of the ideals of the Olympics, than the Olympics themselves. The original Olympic games of course took place long ago in Olympia, and were a religious festival. The modern Olympics was founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the International Olympic Committee, with the first modern Olympic games being held in Athens two years later. Pierre de Coubertin created the modern Olympics with the goal of promoting peace, unity, and healthy competition. The International Olympic Committee with these goals in mind made their principle “the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well.” I agree with Dr.Guttman’s belief that the Paralympics adheres to the Olympics...
Read more

Experience With People With Disabilities

Image
  Experience With People With Disabilities Kyle Jones I have had a lot of experience with people with disabilities throughout my life. I grew up around Galloway, not far from the Absecon Field of Dreams. Being an avid baseball player this is somewhere the teams I played on would volunteer at. Volunteering at the Field of Dreams at a younger age helped prepare for the club I would become the President of at Stockton University. The fall semester of my Sophomore year I joined Stockton University's Unified Sports Club. Unified Sports is a Special Olympics program, where Special Olympic athletes play on teams with people without disabilities. I was the only partner in the club that was not a senior, so after one year of participating in the club I was gifted the title and responsibility of being the President.     Because of participating in the Field of Dreams, and Unified Sports I have much more experience with people with disabilities than the average person. All...
Read more

History of the Paralympics

  History of the Paralympics Before looking at the readings and videos I had no idea what the prefix “para” in paralympics meant. I hadn’t given the prefix’s meaning any thought, and if I were to guess, I would have said something along the lines of disability. After reviewing the material I learned the prefix means “alongside” so the Paralympics are the “parallel games”. Of course this makes sense, and aligns with what the Paralympics are, and what its goals are.  After learning the meaning of the prefix I was curious about what the Paralympics mission statement was. A quick Google search revealed their mission statement is “to enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence, inspire the world, and promote the Paralympic values.” (IPC). After learning this, I watched the video “History of the Paralympic Games’. I was surprised to learn how the games started. Veterans injured in World War II were just sitting around their hospital, lacking physical activities importa...
Read more