The new Paralympic program designed to support physically disabled veterans has helped the partnership between UCO and the United States Olympic Committee expand.
According to the USOC website, the U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympic Division was formed in 2001 to increase support for Paralympic sport in the USA. The USOC is also initiating the Veterans Paralympic Performance Program [VP3] to support Paralympic-eligible veterans who choose to pursue national and international competition in Paralympic sports.
The USOC is offering athletes the opportunity to train as fulltime resident athletes at six Olympic and Paralympic Training Sites throughout the United States, including UCO.
The VP3 supports talented, committed, severely injured veterans in their effort to represent the United States at a Paralympic Games. Through VP3, these veteran-athletes demonstrate to themselves and others the will and abilities that inspire others with physical disabilities and the general population as well, according to USOC's website.
In December 2005, UCO was named a USOC Paralympic Training Site and the official training site for the U.S. Men's National Sitting Volleyball Team, which will compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, said Katrina Shaklee, assistant director of Disabled Sports and Events at UCO.
The Men's Sitting Volleyball team trains here each month, through an agreement with USA Volleyball and the U.S. Paralympics, Shaklee said. UCO has also hosted training camps in the sports of archery, ambulatory field and powerlifting.
"In 2007, we will host training camps in those mentioned above and will also host the women's sitting volleyball team, shooting, table tennis, rowing and possibly judo," she said.
"This is a great opportunity for UCO to support our American soldiers returning from the global war on terrorism," Shaklee said. "It gives them the opportunity to continue to live their lives to the fullest."
In a recent press release, UCO Executive Vice President Steve Kreidler said, "We are proud of our partnership with the USOC and the role we play in providing physically disabled persons with the opportunity to compete on the Olympic level."
"The USOC's commitment to expand Paralympic activity with this program will help ensure that veterans and others with physical disabilities have that opportunity," he said.
Applications for the program are available at www.usparalympics.org. Qualified athletes will begin training by June 1, 2007.
"These soldiers, along with other resident athletes, are beginning to enroll at UCO and attend school," Shaklee said. "They are going to be a part of the student population."
Shaklee said that if students want to learn more about the programs, they can attend training camps and can volunteer at various events, such as the Endeavor Games for Athletes with Physical Disabilities, which UCO provides scholarships to the physically disabled soldiers to attend.
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