Four Team USA Paralympians visited James Madison University on Monday for its annual Paralympic Skill Lab, where students took part in adaptive sports activities and lessons on inclusion, according to JMU.
The event was held at University Recreation, or UREC, and brought together students studying athletic training, occupational therapy, physical and health education teacher education, exercise science, coaching education and other disciplines, the university said. The 11th annual lab included discussions and hands-on adaptive sport stations led by athletes and adaptive sport experts, according to the announcement.
Students tried goalball, a Paralympic sport for athletes with visual impairments, wearing blackout goggles and using hearing and touch to defend a goal against a bell-filled ball, JMU said. The university said the program is intended to help future educators, health professionals, coaches and recreation leaders learn about disability, accessibility and inclusive practices.
The four visiting athletes included wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball gold medalists and a goalball medalist, according to JMU. Members of the Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball program and adaptive sport educators from Old Dominion University and the University of Virginia also led skill stations, the university said.
JMU said the lab is supported through partnerships among its departments of kinesiology and health professions, University Recreation and the Morrison Bruce Center. The announcement did not provide a cost or public contact information for the event.
