The Auburn University Program for Students with Disabilities has started a wheelchair basketball program located at the Student Activities Center.

“We are trying to promote adoptive recreation for our students with disabilities,” Nathan Waters said. Waters is the coordinator of special events for the Program for Students with Disabilities.

Waters said they started the program five months ago in September. Since then, they have visited tournaments, recruited players and had a couple of exhibition games. The most recent step in developing the program has been the purchase of six sports wheelchairs.

These wheelchairs can be checked out by any AU student from the Student Activities Center.

Waters said that he currently plays wheelchair basketball with a group of five on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. The group has four students with disabilities and a non-disabled student. All get a sports wheelchair and shoot basketball.

The only time students without disabilities are not allowed to play are during regulated competition. The current governing body for wheelchair basketball is the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.

The NWBA has a junior, intercollegiate and professional league. If AU joined the intercollegiate league, they would be competing against 11 other colleges in the league.

The program is currently one man away from having a team. The extra player would give AU an opportunity to compete in division three of the intercollegiate league. Division three is a weekend league.

The Program for Students with Disabilities hopes to have a complete wheelchair basketball team by August 2010 to compete with the other intercollegiate teams.

“We want to do this thing right,” Waters said. “We don’t want to have it just to have it.”

The program is taking cautious, but big steps in its efforts to build up the program. Waters said that they are trying to give wheelchair basketball a permanent home within the athletics department. The well-funded athletics department provides wheelchair basketball a more secure place in AU athletics.

Waters said that he wants to eventually have the program reach out into the Auburn community and beyond. The program would be able to hold camps for disabled community members and increase the university’s nationwide recruitment.

The program should also help the university increase awareness of the lower-limb impaired. “It will shed a light on how we need to update facilities to make the campus more accessible,” the coordinator said.

Waters had previously worked for Camp ASSCA, a camp for special needs youth, as an outdoor adventure director. He is familiar with adaptive sports and exercises. This gives him years of experience to design a program.

Waters said that the only problem the department is currently facing is securing funds. Everyone has been really enthusiastic about it and thinks it is a good idea, he said. Many have told him they would assist him in the venture.

“I have been keeping a list of all those people,” Waters said laughing.

The task before Waters and the Program for Students with Disabilities is daunting. With a year and half left before they expect to finish, the program has completed a lot. Waters said that once funding is secured, there should be no delays in completing the wheelchair basketball team.

“Big plans cost money,” Waters said.


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