Adaptive Sports

https://www.abilities.com/2026/09/07/usa-wheelchair-football-tournament

The USA Wheelchair Football League (USAWFL), a program of Move United, will host six teams from across the country in a competitive tournament as the second national tournament in the 2026 wheelchair football season. Get Ready to Play! Game play will take place September 11-13 at the Westworld of Scottsdale in conjunction with the Abilities Expo, a multi-day event aimed at sharing resources for participants with disabilities. Competing teams include the home team Arizona Cardinals wheelchair football team as well as Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Carolina Wheelchair Football Team.

The Olympics have soared before in Los Angeles. In less than two years, the Paralympics will take flight from L.A. for the first time.

LA28 hopes to raise the bar for the Paralympic movement when the Paralympic Games open in SoFi Stadium on Aug. 15, 2028. The city that already changed the Olympic movement by hosting the most commercially successful Games ever in 1984 could leave an equally indelible mark on the Paralympic movement.

“In the opening ceremony in two years’ time, we will be about to witness the Paralympic Games that can really put our movement in a higher step,” International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said, “in a higher position as a sport movement.”

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While the Olympics were blossoming in L.A. in 1984, the Paralympics that year were hosted in New York and Stoke Mandeville, England in a patchwork plan that came to…

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The Sturdy Dirty Enduro is the largest women’s-only enduro in the U.S., bringing together more than 300 riders across 23 categories. The 2026 event also included dedicated Adaptive MTB categories, giving adaptive riders the opportunity to take on challenging terrain completely suited for adaptive bikes. It’s a great example of an event creating space for adaptive riders to compete alongside a larger mountain bike community.

Sydney Fowler: Finding Her Way Back to Sport

After a spinal cord injury left her paralyzed at 13, Sydney Fowler thought her athletic dreams were over. An adaptive sports camp introduced her to water skiing, tennis, CrossFit, and more—eventually leading her to compete on Clemson’s wheelchair tennis team and pursue her goal of reaching the Paralympics. Her story is a powerful reminder that getting back into sport can open doors to possibilities you never expected.

Read Sydney’s story in PEOPLE

Andrew Kurka: The Definition of Grit

Paralympic skier Andrew Kurka has built his career around one simple motto: work hard, have grit, and don’t quit. After a life-changing injury and additional challenges along the way, Kurka went on to win multiple Paralympic medals—including a bronze in the 2026 Winter Games. Now, he’s giving back through mentorship and helping the next generation of adaptive athletes find their path.