How to support local athletes in Parasports to celebrate the Paralympics
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – With the Paralympics set to wrap up soon, it’s important to remember to support local athletes year round.
We spoke to the Adaptive Recreation Coordinator with Bowling Green Parks and Recreation, who told us about what’s called the Parasports Program of South Central Kentucky.
This includes Paralympic events like wheelchair basketball and up-down tennis, where athletes in chairs get to play with people who do not have them.
Staff say it’s important to make sure to know that these athletes are just as amazing as those we saw at the Olympic Games in Paris just a few weeks ago.
“Sometimes the thought is that people that are in a wheelchair can’t necessarily do everything that an able body person can, and that’s not true. They can do everything. They just have to maybe find a way around it,” Madison Duncan says.
She also says they offer events for both the winter and summer season, including sleds available at the SOKY Ice Rink during the holiday season.
These events not only help athletes get some physical activity, it also allows them an opportunity to connect with their community in the process who relate to what they’re going through.
