8th Annual DisAbility Sports Festival a Success

It was all fun and games at the 8th Annual DisAbility Sports Festival held on Saturday Oct. 18 at Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB). The event, presented by Molina Healthcare, offered over 20 different adaptive sports for participants to play including; sitting volleyball, judo, cycling, wheelchair basketball and rugby, golf, tennis, archery, and adaptive climbing. All sports and activities were hosted by local adaptive sport clubs leagues and programs and were coached or demonstrated by professionals and athletes, including paralympic team members and adaptive sports world champions. CSUSB athletes were also encouraged to volunteer at the event to assist athletes and work the event. The DisAbility Sports Festival was free and open to all disabilities; physical or cognitive, and welcomed people of all ages. Free registration included a t-shirt for the athlete, a souvenir shirt for families aides or friends with the athlete and tickets for lunch provided by sponsor, Peter’s El Loco. Participants also enjoyed entertainment from the Long Beach-based band, Dance Mr. Good Day. Dr. Aaron Moffett, director and founder of the event and associate professor for the department of kinesiology at CSUSB, led the opening ceremonies by encouraging all the participants. “Try new things, challenge yourself, and reach out,” he told the crowd in the CSUSB arena. Every year the event features a keynote speaker; this year it was 12-year-old Jeffery Lopez. “Keep trying, you can do anything you want!” Lopez said, “My dream is to see all kids happy and not feeling left out.” Lopez was born with Spina Bifida, a congenital disorder that causes some vertebrae in the overlying spinal cord to not fully form, remaining unfused and open, VACTERAL syndrome, and hydrocephalus, which is the buildup inside the skull that leads to brain swelling, literally meaning, “water on the brain.” In the first 24 hours of his life, Lopez underwent three surgeries with a current total of 15 surgeries. Lopez navigates in a wheelchair, but has been walking and building strength using a walker. Regardless of his mobility however, Lopez started playing sports at age four and currently participates in a variety of sports including baseball, karate, basketball, sled hockey, and swimming. Lopez is currently involved in a project called “Jeffrey’s Hope,” with a goal of raising enough funds to build a universal playground that he and his brother could play in. His ultimate hope is to one day see playgrounds built for all children, adults and families to use regardless of disabilities, so that no one feels intimidated or left out. After opening ceremonies, the activities began. Activities simultaneously ran throughout the day in the various gyms and fields and CSUSB. Kayaking was offered at the pool, yoga in the REC center, cycling in the parking lot, wheelchair tennis on the tennis courts and field sports at the CSUSB fields. Rock climbing was offered in and outside the REC center which seemed to be a crowd favorite. Shouts of encouragment, “C’mon you can do it!” and “Yay, you’re almost there,” with constant applause and ringing bells signifying a successful attempt could be heard throughout the day from the adaptive rock climbing stations. Aside from the sports and activities, sponsors and local companies and organizations had booths set up along the walkways offering information to participants on different programs available in their communities. Organizations included, IEHP, Disabled Mobility Systems, Jill’s House, Rolling Start, Inland Regional Center, Amputee Empowerment Partners, Numotion, Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, OmniTrans and more, just to name a few. In 2006, Dr. Aaron Moffett, Ph.D., founded the first DisAbility Sports Festival. After coaching in the realm of sports for the disabled, Moffett was inspired by a deaf athlete he coached when he saw all the benefits of sports for people with disabilities. Dr. Moffett is currently an adaptive sports coordinator with the Air Force Wounded Warrior program. He founded the festival at CSUSB while a professor in the kinesiology department. Moffett is currently taking a leave of absence from teaching to work with the Air Force’s adaptive sports program. In its first year, the festival had 123 registered athletes and featured nine sports. Each year the festival grows in participants and sports. Last year’s festival, though it had to be postponed a week due to bad weather, saw hundreds of participants and several sports. This year’s event totaled 700 athletes and 23 sports. “The whole point is to get people with disabilities to be more physically active, people with disabilities are about four and half times less likely to participate in physical activities than people without disabilities, yet the health benefits are even greater; the social benefits are even greater for people with disabilities who participate in sports and physical activity,” Moffett said. “We hope to help people find their niche so they can be healthy 365 days a year.” Dr. Moffett, along with the staff, sponsors, and supporters, hope to see the festival continuously grow each year.