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Since 1956, Move United has been redefining disability by providing year-round sports and recreation opportunities to people with a wide range of physical disabilities, offering more than 70 different adaptive sports. Through its national network of more than 240 community member organizations, this nonprofit serves more than 125,000 individuals of all ages with disabilities each year. Move United is also an official affiliate of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and a recognized partner with numerous national sports organizations.
Through a partnership with NRPA, Move United is excited to expand awareness around disability inclusion in sport to the vast NRPA network. To support the inclusion of individuals with physical disabilities in park and recreation programming, Move United offers a myriad of in-person and virtual training resources. Park and recreation professionals are encouraged to access these resources here.
Educational Resources
By accessing the Move United Education HUB, an online learning management system, park and recreation professionals will find several free-to-access courses tailored to their training and education needs. The Education HUB delivers the latest online adaptive sport training — empowering sport professionals to perform their best, increase expertise and deepen their commitment and quality of service to people with disabilities. Among the many courses, park and recreational professionals are highly encouraged to review the Inclusive Sport Fundamentals. This course, reviewed by adaptive sport athletes and professionals, provides foundational knowledge and tools to support sport professionals in including community members with physical disabilities in their programs.
In addition to the Inclusive Sport Fundamentals, courses include the Inclusive Playbook, designed specifically for children pre-K through sixth grade. Move United’s Inclusive Playbook is a turnkey resource designed to educate children on disability, inclusion and adaptive sport in a fun and engaging manner. Viewers not only have unlimited, free access to this resource to utilize in their programs, but they also have access to activator activities, supplemental videos and a curriculum that complements the Playbook.
In the Education HUB, park and recreation professionals also will find several resources that will bolster the training of their staff members. There is a Trail Access webinar series that shares training and educational knowledge surrounding mobility devices used for recreational trail access as well as adaptive mountain biking and laws and policies that govern it. There are also courses on sport-specific resources, a guide for instructing athletes with a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder and more. Move United also collaborated with NRPA this past year to host an informational session, “Best Practices for Delivering an Accessible Virtual Session,” that can be accessed through NRPA’s learning management system.
In-Person Training
In addition to online resources, Move United offers in-person trainings through its national events, such as the Move United Education Conference, The Hartford Nationals and The Hartford Ski Spectacular. Regional trainings and grant funding opportunities, including many sport-specific trainings, can be found throughout the Move United member network all across the United States, including several park and recreation groups.
Park and recreation professionals are highly encouraged to check out these events. For a full list of Move United Membership benefits, please check out Move United’s website to see what it can offer to help better serve your community.
Move United looks forward to its continued collaboration with NRPA to elevate the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in outdoor recreation. The organization will have a presence at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference with several sessions, as well as an adaptive sports demonstration area, and looks forward to connecting with more of the NRPA network onsite!
Authors’ Note: Special thanks to our Move United staff who also contributed to the content of this article.
Cayla Hammaker is Senior Education Manager at Move United. Jacob Tyree is Training Coordinator at Move United.