Presented by Extremity Games,
an Athletes with Disabilities Network Program

April 9, 2011 from 10 am - 6 pm
Joshus Tree National Park, California

EVENT DETAILS
This full day adaptive rock climbing Clinic will introduce persons with disabilities to outdoor climbing through top-rope climbing style. This clinic is focused on athletes with a leg or arm amputation. Anyone living with limb loss or limb difference is welcome to attend. Clinics will consist of instruction for beginner to intermediate climbers.

Two AMGA certified guides, as well as elite rock climbing athlete and above knee amputee Ronnie Dickson, will be on-hand providing instruction. All equipment and gear will be provided.
For more information contact:
Ronnie Dickson at 863.651.6844.

REGISTRATION
There are a limited number of spots available. Spots are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Registration Fee: $20, which includes lunch, a full day of climbing with instruction, all equipment and dinner.

Registration opens online January 15, 2011 at www.adnpage.org/JTclinic.

The Ronnie Dickson Project: Amputee Climbing from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo.

From left to right: Reed Hoffman, photographer, Nickson Moshi (Massai Giraffe Safari Guide), Guide (name unknown), Neil Duncan, Denver, Kirk Bauer, Ellicott City, N.Y., Scott Kelly, volunteer, Dan Nevins, Jacksonville

Day 5 at 16,500 on our way to 18,500 this afternoon. Toughest climb yet. Battery failed and knee froze up so its slow going. Dan’s right residual limb is irritated and inflamed, but is better today.
Will camp high tonight and reach summit before 8am tomorrow (noon DC time Saturday).
Thanks
Sent from Zain, Tanzania


August 4, 2010
Kilimanjaro Challenge day 3 update: The weather is getting colder. They are in the alpine zone with much less vegetation. Spectacular views of Kilimanjaro and Mt. Mwenzi to the Southwest. Last night was below freezing and colder than expected but mostly warm during hikes. Tonight they will be camping at around 14,000 feet.

The team is feeling strong and enjoying the camping as much as the hiking!

Team Missing Parts in Action, Comprised of Three American Service Men Injured in Combat, Tackle 19,340 Foot Climb to Raise Awareness and Inspire Athletes with Disabilities

Rockville, MD—July 26, 2010— Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA), one of the largest sporting organizations for people with physical disabilities, in partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, announced it is sponsoring Team Missing Parts in Action’s climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa on August 2.

The three climbers are from three wars: Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam. Two are double leg amputees and one a single above knee amputee, leaving literally "one good leg between the three" to climb the tallest mountain in Africa. Sgt. Neil Duncan, 27-years-old, a double leg amputee injured in Afghanistan; Staff Sgt. Dan Nevins, 39-years-old, a double below knee amputee injured in Iraq; and Sgt. Kirk Bauer, JD, 62-years-old, a single above knee amputee injured in Vietnam comprise the team.

Team Missing Parts in Action is part of DSUSA’s Warfighter Sports Series, a schedule of challenge events that help military service members with permanent disabilities, such as amputated limbs, spinal cord injury, visual impairment or traumatic brain injury, train for and challenge themselves in extreme and endurance sports.

“After serving thousands of severely injured service members from Iraq and Afghanistan through rehabilitation sports programs for the past seven years, our disabled veterans are now yearning for an opportunity to test their skills to the extreme, as they did in the military," said DSUSA Executive Director Kirk Bauer, JD. "Our Warfighter Sports Series provides this. They can now literally climb the tallest mountains in the world to challenge themselves and inspire others with disabilities to become active and reach new heights.”

“In 2009, I attempted a solo climb of Kilimanjaro but failed to reach the summit," said Sgt. Duncan. "Since coming off the mountain, I was determined to achieve my goal and trained diligently to prepare for this climb. As a team, I know we can make it. For me this is about more than climbing the tallest mountain in Africa, it is about proving to myself, and others with disabilities, that DSUSA's motto works, "If I can do this, I can do anything!”

Guided by Nickson Moshi, the climb will begin on August 2 and the team plans to ascend and descend the mountain in ten days or less. Moshi, owner of Massai Giraffe Safari, previously led blind climber Erik Weihenmayer up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

“I’m very impressed by the upcoming DSUSA Kilimanjaro climb comprising an all wounded warrior team of leg amputees,” said Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind climber to summit Mt. Everest. “This climb is an important part of the rehabilitation process, sends a powerful message to the world about what is possible, and is a dramatic symbol of climbing to new heights and making an impact in the world after life-changing injuries.”

“Challenged Athletes Foundation is committed to making a difference in the lives of individuals with physical challenges who desire to live active, competitive lifestyles by giving them every opportunity to compete in the sports they love,” said Nico Marcolongo, CAF Operation Rebound Program Manager. “We see our partnership with Disabled Sports USA in the Warfighter Sports Series as empowering our wounded warriors to live out their love of sport and competition.”

You can follow Team Missing Parts in Action’s progress, view photos and make donations to the organization at www.warfightersports.org. Also a Facebook Causes page has been set up at http://www.causes.com/causes/508185?recruiter_id=112559622 for support and donations.

The event will be chronicled by award-winning photographer Reed Hoffman, through a grant from Microsoft Imaging. Another key supporter of the climb is Health Net, a medical services provider.
 

Other Corporations and Foundations that have provided substantial funding to help Disabled Sports USA provide much needed sports rehabilitation programs for severely injured service members are: U.S. Paralympics, DSUSA National Partner; The Hartford Insurance, Ariel Corporation, The Chart Group, Non Commissioned Officers Association National Defense Foundation, No Bats Baseball Club, Oshkosh Defense, PING, Tee it up for the Troops, Trijicon, and Anthem Life.

 

Three Disabled Veterans, One Good Leg

About the Climbers:

Sergeant Neil Duncan, U.S. Army (ret.)—27-years-old, from Maple Grove, Minn., Duncan was severely injured in Afghanistan in December 2005 by an IED. Five days later, he woke up in the hospital missing both of his legs, breathing through a tube in his neck and could not talk. While undergoing rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he became involved in DSUSA's sports programs, where he learned to cycle, mono ski, golf and sail (including a race around Ireland and England with an all amputee warrior team). Duncan will attend the University of Denver this fall.

Staff Sergeant Dan Nevins, U.S. Army (ret.)—39-years-old, from Windsor, Calif. Nevins served in the Army for 14 years. In November 2004, while serving in Iraq, Nevins lost his left leg below the knee and suffered extensive bone and muscle damage to his right leg from an improvised explosive device. Through DSUSA’s sports programs, Nevins relearned how to snowboard, wake board, cycle and golf. In 2007, he suffered continued life threatening infections in his remaining leg and made the difficult decision to have it amputated. Despite this setback Nevins is an avid golfer and continues to remain active. Nevins currently works for Wounded Warrior Project in Jacksonville, Fla.

Sergeant Kirk Bauer, JD, U.S. Army (ret).—62-years-old, originally from Oakland, Calif. now living in Ellicott City, Md. Bauer lost a leg from a hand grenade during an ambush while serving in the Ninth Combat Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1969 where he earned two Bronze Stars for heroism. He has devoted 40 years of service to Disabled Sports USA. As its executive director for the past 28 years, Bauer has taken a small, all volunteer organization, and made it one of the nation’s largest sports and recreation organization for physically disabled individuals, with more than 100 chapters nationwide, serving 60,000 people annually. He worked to establish the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project in 2003. Bauer enjoys cycling, hiking, golfing and swimming.

 

TRIP ITINERARY

Click here for an image of the route Team Missing Parts in Action will be taking.

August 2: Make way to the Rongai gate. Start the trek to Simba Camp (9,000 ft)
August 3: From Simba Camp, make our way to Second Caves (11,318) or Kikelewa Camp (11,800 ft)
August 4: Make way toward the Third Cave or Mawenzi Camp (14,206 ft)
August 5: Try to reach Kibo Hut at (15,600 ft)
August 6: Rest day to acclimate
August 7: From Kibo, hike to the Hans Meyer Cave (16,896 ft)
August 8: Attempt to the summit at Uhuru Peak (19,340 ft). Start making way back to Horombo Hut (12,000ft)
August 9: Try to reach Marangu Gate.
August 10: additional day if needed
August 11: additional day if needed
August 12: additional day if needed

CAF is looking for 3-4 adult amputee triathletes who may be interested in attending an awesome Paratriathlon Camp August 19-22 in the San Diego area with outstanding triathlon coaches from Multisports.com. The camp is open to upper or lower extremity amputees who do not need to be advanced triathletes, but who have mastered the basics of swimming, biking and running.

If you or anyone you know is an amputee triathlete (even a relative beginner) and would like to attend this free training camp, please review the details on the attached flyer and contact CAF as instructed. If invited to attend, CAF will cover food, lodging, ground transportation and up to $500 for air fare, and show you a great time. Space is limited to 25, and there are 19 registered as of today, so don’t hesitate if interested.

We would greatly appreciate it if you would circulate this to others who may be interested in this opportunity. Thanks!

Kelly

John K. (Kelly) Mione
VP-Mktg, Adam Smith Enterprises, Inc.
Challenged Athletes Foundation, Florida
727-942-2591 x222

HICKSVILLE, N.Y (July 15, 2010) -- Amy Palmiero-Winters -- a below-the-knee amputee, world-class ultramarathon runner, coach, mentor and single mother of two -- was awarded a prestigious ESPY Award in the category of Best Female Athlete with a Disability at a ceremony last night in Los Angeles which was televised on ESPN.

The ESPY is the latest achievement in what has already been a remarkable year for Palmiero-Winters, who was chosen to be on Team USA at the IAU Ultrarunning World Championships in Brive, France, and was selected as the winner of the 2010 AAU Sullivan Award as America''s top amateur athlete. She also became the first amputee to complete a 100-mile trail run when she competed in the elite Western States 100 endurance run.

Palmiero-Winters finished among the top 20 female athletes -- all able-bodied -- in the 24 Hour Run World Championship in Brive, France on May 14. Palmiero-Winters ran almost 124 miles in the endurance race, finishing 19th in the women’s field out of seventy-eight competitors after overcoming initial mechanical challenges with her prosthetic running leg as well as stomach problems and a grueling race course featuring tight turns and varied terrain. Palmiero-Winters, a member of Team USA, was the first athlete with a disability to ever qualify for an able-bodied national running team.

In addition to her running achievements, she volunteers her time coaching and motivating children with disabilities. She is the full-time director of Team A Step Ahead, a nationwide sports team of adults and children with limb loss sponsored by A Step Ahead Prosthetics and Orthotics.

"This is another incredible recognition of Amy''s unprecedented accomplishments as an athlete and an inspiration for all competitors," said Erik Schaffer, founder and president of A Step Ahead, which sponsors Amy as a member of Team A Step Ahead.

• cross country skiing
• downhill skiing/snowboarding
• running
• road bicycling
• canoeing
• mountain biking
• kayaking

Last week around 32 athletes from around the country participated on the 2010 Dixie Games, the event was hosted for the first time by the City of Tampa in conjunction with Hillsborough County Parks Recreation & Conservation Department, and Paralympic Sports Tampa Bay. 

The Dixie Games where held from May 6th through May 9th across the following venues:

• Embassy Suites - USF

• Temple Terrace Family Recreation Complex

• All People's Life Center

• University of South Florida

Various athletes ranging from junior athletes to paralympians competed in the following sport events: 

• Archery

• Shot put

• Discus

• Javelin

• Long Jump

• High Jump

• Triple Jump 

• Club Throw

• Softball Throw

• Swimming

• Table Tennis

• Track

• Weightlifting

• Fencing

The top junior athletes who win at their sporting category will qualify to participate in this years National Junior Disability Championships that will be held in Chicago from July 17th through July 24th, where about 250 athletes from 35 states will be competing. Adult athletes competing at the Dixie Games where looking to meet qualifying standards to compete in this years paralympic trials that will be held in the City of Miramar, FL from June 18th through June 20th.  

Dixie Games Fencing Finals



Fencing match between Jim Chaney (left) and Curtis Lovejoy (right). LoveJoy would move on to the finals


Ryan Estep watches as two adult athletes compete to see who he will be challenging in the finals.


Ryan Estep (Left) and Curtis Lovejoy (Right) get strapped in before beginning their bout. 


Ryan Estep (Left) leans in for a strike against Curtis Lovejoy (Right)


The room filled with silence as Ryan Estep (Left) and Curtis Lovejoy (Right) fence.


Victorious, Curtis Lovejoy smiles ask he takes off his glove for a handshake. 

Dixie Games Table Tennis


Junior athlete focuses on returning a serve from her opponent.


Ron Richardson, a member of Amputees Together Florida, participates in the games as a score keeper


Junior athlete  is interviewed directly after her match. 


All People's Life Center's gymnasium is bustling as the athletes prepare for their next match. 


Andres Velasquez (Left) from 360oandp.com interviews Andy Chasanoff, the Sports Coordinator for Paralympic Sports Tampa Bay.

GULFPORT — The battered prosthetic foot barely resembles the one Mary Burkett left Shriners Childrens Hospital in Tampa with six months ago.

The heavy-duty grade plastic is pockmarked with dents.

The shape is disfigured.

Toes are missing, broken off from the repeated pounding.

“They’re just ripped apart,” said Cheryl Burkett, Mary’s mother. “When Mary gives (the doctors) the prosthetic to fix, they can’t believe what it looks like.”

Once, when the doctors cut the prosthetic open, sand poured out. “I like playing sports a lot,” Burkett grins.

“I don’t think you can do that, Mary.”

That phrase feels foreign to Burkett, a starting second baseman on the Boca Ciega High School softball team.

Burkett was born without her right foot. Doctors have never been able to fully explain why. It could have become entangled around the umbilical cord. There are bumps that show where her toes started to grow, but otherwise her right leg ends at her ankle.

“It’s not like it was severed,” said Burkett, a senior. “It just never grew.”

Growing up, Burkett’s father, Jake, would watch her along with older brother Josh and younger sister Lauren during the day before heading off to night classes at USF.

Visiting the park was a daily ritual. The siblings would go head to head, no matter the sport. Josh, two years older, never let up on his sister. Mary fought right back, at the encouragement of their father.

“My dad treated me like a boy,” she said. “I was the same as my brother.”

Burkett continued pursuing athletics. She made the Boca Ciega volleyball and soccer teams as a freshman. This year, she reached double figures for goals from her left forward position in soccer.

“I’m probably the best at soccer,” she admits.

She would play basketball for the Pirates but it interferes with soccer season. She plays flag football in a rec league near her home. She wakeboards.

Gymnastics was Burkett’s main sport until doctors told her the constant pounding on the small surface area of her right leg could give her knee and hip problems down the road.

“My parents put me in everything,” Burkett said. “…They’re like, ‘Let’s see what she can do,’ and I was able to do all of it.”

“Because (Jake) was home with the children, he made all the difference,” Cheryl added. “He made Mary who she is today.”

In preseason practice, Boca Ciega softball coach Michelle Beckert encouraged Burkett to play the year without her prosthetic foot, which would often leave Burkett’s leg raw and blistered. Her batting was compromised because the prosthetic wouldn’t turn with the rest of her body, reducing her power.

Initially, Burkett balked. Taking the field without the foot would leave her vulnerable. She already heard whispers, felt the stares. What would people say now?

“I don’t think you can do that, Mary.”

“It was hard for me at first,” Burkett said. “I sat off to the side and thought about it for 10 minutes and was like, ‘I can do it.’ And I just took it off and started playing.” (She wears a black ankle brace in place of a cleat, but it’s just a cover. It doesn’t offer support of protection.)

Since then, her confidence has soared.

“I’m really proud of the courage she showed to take it off and come out on the field and face her insecurities about her foot,” Beckert said.

And she has become even more effective as a player. Beckert says she is the team’s second-fastest runner. Her focus in the field is unwavering.

“Defensively, she was as good as what I’ve seen at second base in the county,” East Lake coach Mike Estes said. “She made every play that went to her. …She’s impressive.”

Burkett will join her brother next year at Florida State, where she plans to pursue a career in the medical field, a path fostered by the medical magnet program at Boca Ciega.

“I like dissecting things,” she said. “I want to try something in the medical field, maybe medical examination. Something where I get to cut things up.”

Burkett will never let her absent foot dictate her path.

“I pushed myself as hard as I can to be able to keep up with everyone else and have no one know (about the foot),” Burkett said. “… I don’t ever give myself excuses.”

“I don’t think you can do that, Mary.”

That phrase isn’t even in Mary Burkett’s vocabulary.

Bryan Burns can be reached at bburns@sptimes.com

 

Life Rolls On is a division of The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. It was founded by Jesse Billauer, who was affected by a spinal cord injury at the age of 17. Their mission is to improve the quality of life of young people affected by spinal cord injury, while utilizing action sports as a platform to inspire them with a feeling that there are infinite possibilities despite paralysis.

Life Rolls On focuses on three areas, they are:

1. They Will Surf Again (TWSA) – their “flagship” program as they call it. This program is and adaptive surf program aimed at people affected by a spinal cord injury. They Will Surf Again is a life changing experience for both surfer and they volunteers who aid them. Although the program gets people with spinal cord injury surfing the main focus is on proving to them that anything is possible. The program has been so successful that it has branched out into They Will Ski Again and They Will Skate Again programs.

2. Injury Outreach & Being A Resource – this aspect of the foundation focuses on doing peer visits to help individuals who have sustained a spinal cord injury. The foundation feels that the sooner they can get in contact with the injured individual the more impactful and meaningful the outreach will be to all those affected by the injury.

3. Education, Motivation and Awareness – the message is simple, life goes on after a spinal cord injury. Life Rolls On focuses on delivering that message to both the general public and those living with a spinal cord injury.

Visit Life Rolls On Website

Thursday, May 6th - Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Andy Chasanoff
Meet Director
813-892-0053
dsportshcprd@aol.com
www.dixiegames.com

All junior and adult athletes with a physical or visual disability. Disabilities may include but not be limited to:

• Spinal Cord Injury Spina Bifida
• Traumatic Brain Injury Cerebral Palsy
• Muscular Dystrophy Amputation
• Osteogenesis Imperfecta Dwarfism
• Blind Congenital Anomalies
• If you are unsure as to eligibility for this meet, contact the Meet Director.

Athletics will be calendared sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee through US Paralympics. Results for IPC licensed athletes will count towards rankings. All other sports are sanctioned by WASUSA.


Events

Archery: (for classes AR1, AR2, and AR3) Athletes are expected to provide their own bows and arrows.

Field Events: Shot put, Discus, Javelin, Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump, Club Throw; and Softball Throw International Paralympic Committee Calendared Sanctioned

Swimming: Short Course, Outdoor pool-6 Lane 25 yard length; Colorado Timing System

Table Tennis: 8 Stigga Expert (wheelchair adapted) tables available.
Open Singles and Open Doubles will be contest for classifications TT1-TT10

Track: 8 Lane Mondo Super X surface 400 Meter Track made of the same material as the track used in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with Lynx Timing System International Paralympic Committee Calendared Sanctioned

Weightlifting: Power and Bench styles will be contested

Fencing: contesting Epée and Sabre styles

The Embassy Suites Host Hotel is located on the USF Campus which is approximately 16 miles northeast of Tampa International Airport. The All Peoples Life Center is approximately 5 miles from the Host Hotel. The Temple Terrace Family Recreation Complex is located approximately 3.28 miles from Embassy Suites and 4 miles from All Peoples Life Center.


Venue Sites:
All venues are subject to change before games
.
Embassy Suites – USF
3705 Spectrum Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612
800-EMBASSY or (813)-977-7066
www.embassysuitesusf.com

• Registration/Classification-Thursday
• Weightlifting
• Dixie’s 30th Birthday Bash

Temple Terrace Family Recreation Complex
6610 East Whiteway Drive
Temple Terrace, FL 33617-3215
(813) 506-6600

• Swimming

All People’s Life Center
6105 East Sligh Avenue
Tampa, FL 33617-9102
(813) 744-5978

• Day 2 Registration/Classification-Friday
• Fencing
• Field Events
• Table Tennis
• Archery

University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave.
Tampa, FL 33620

• Track/Ambulatory Field-Javelin & Jumps


Classification Format

Each athlete will be classified according to his or her functional ability to allow fair competition between athletes with similar abilities. The adult international classification systems will be utilized. All athletes must have classifications minimally at the regional level to compete at the Dixie Games. Dixie Games will be completing Domestic National Level Classifications for Athletics, Archery, and Table Tennis with Regional Level only for Swimming for USA domestic athletes only.

All international athletes must have classifications to enter. If you feel there is a change in your athlete’s functional ability due to a change in medical status, you can complete the “Request for Classification Review” form included in this packet. All athletes needing classification must be classified during the scheduled time.

Athletes needing classification will be notified via email. Athletes who fail to complete the classification process during this time will be scratched from those events where they do not have a classification.

Swimmers need to go through bench testing during registration/classification time and a water test on:

Friday May 7, 2010 only from 11:00-12:30 at the Temple Terrace Recreational Center. There will be no exceptions to this. Water test time will be assigned during classification.


Registration

The registration fee is $75 and will include the event t-shirt, competition entry fees for all events eligible to compete, Dixie’s 30th Birthday Bash, and 2 box lunch meals. Coaches and parents/family can pre-purchase additional box lunches for $10 per day as well as a ticket for Dixie’s 30th Birthday Bash for $10. They must be pre-ordered so the proper number is ordered. They will not be available to purchase during Check-In. The box lunches will be served at All Peoples Life Center.

An athlete summary form to confirm your registration and what is missing will be emailed to you. With the exception of needing to be classified all items must be resolved by the registration deadline date (postmarked by April 25, 2010).

Late registrations will be assessed a $30 late fee. All athletes must be checked-in by 11:00 AM, Friday, May 7th or they will not be eligible to compete. Athletes may be registered by their coaches if they do not need to be classified.

Events will be heated based on classification, age division, gender and qualifying times. Due to limited numbers in some events various classifications and age group athletes may be heated together if qualifying times are competitive in order to expedite the running of the competition. However, placements will be based on classification, age and gender where
applicable. Athletes can participate in a maximum of 7 individual swimming events with only 1 IM event allowed.

When reporting to registration check-in coaches/athletes will be expected to verify by initialing each athlete’s events, classification, date of birth, and gender.

THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CORRECTIONS UNLESS IT IS THE ERROR OF THE LOC.


Junior Age Divisions

Competitive age for junior events is determined by the athlete’s age by year of birth.

Division A – Under 11 Ages 7-10
Division B – Under 14 Ages 11-13
Division C – Under 17 Ages 14-16
Division D – Under 20 Ages 17-19
Division E – Under 23Ages 20-22 with the exception Weightlifting is 19-23


Medical Forms

Everyone must submit the attached medical form to be completed by the parent or athlete (if 18 years old). These forms will be provided to the staff covering medical.


Dress Code

All athletes will be expected to dress according to the rules of competition. It is the responsibility of each athlete to know the dress code for each event in which they wish to compete. Failure to comply could result in possible DQ according to National Governing Body rules.


Sport Rules

The rules for each US NGB will be enforced during all events. All competitors are expected to know the rules of each sport in which they compete. The honest effort rule will be in effect for the Dixie Games. In
other words, if the Referee determines that an athlete intentionally missed an event without scratching the night before at the coaches meeting and does not have a medical reason for scratching, he/she can be disqualified from all remaining events in that sport.


Equipment

Helmets will be required for all wheelchair track events for juniors. Adults are required for 800M and longer. Athletes will be expected to bring their own helmets for track; bows & arrows for archery; table tennis paddles, etc. All other equipment, such as field implements, and table-tennis tables will be certified and provided by the LOC. Athletes may use their personal implements for field events however they must be turned in to the trailer by 6:00 pm on Friday May 7, 2010 so they can be weighed and measured. If the trailer is locked, call Randy Chiavaroli at 727-271-6411. They will then be available for all athletes to use in the specific field pit. They will not be returned until after the competition is over and the results verified in case it needs to be reweighed and measured for records.


Protest

A protest procedure will be in effect for the Dixie Games. A $25 filing fee will be required when submitting the protest. Protests must be submitted according to the appropriate sport rules. This filing fee will be refunded if the protest is upheld or the fee will be forfeited if the protest is declined.


Conduct

The Local Organizing Committee reserves the right to withdraw an athlete from further competition for profanity, abusive behavior or other inappropriate conduct. Absolutely no alcohol or tobacco is to be used in the competition area by athletes, coaches, support staff, parents, or spectators.


Awards

Spirit of Excellence Awards will be provided to one (1) male and one (1) female adult and junior athlete for each sport who displays exemplary vision, focus, commitment, persistence, discipline, and sportsmanship.

Nomination forms will be available at the coaches meetings. Athletes will receive a certificate of official results at the end of the competition.


Transportation and Equipment Storage

Each team/individual will be responsible for their own ground transportation between the airport, hotels and venue sites. Tampa is served by all the major car rental agencies.

Storage of racing chairs will be available at the USF track during the scheduled warm up time on May 8th from 3-5 pm until the end of track the next day. Storage of seated throwing frames is available at All People’s Center. This must be requested on the registration form so we make sure we have enough storage space available. Storage of competition equipment is at your own risk.


Dixie’s 30th Birthday Bash

Celebrate Dixie’s 30th Birthday at Embassy Suites on Saturday evening May 8th 8-10 pm. Join in the fun which includes pizza and Cesar salad appetizers, water/tea, cake, DJ with music, recognition of sponsors, and Spirit of Excellence Awardees. Must have a ticket to attend. This is included with the registration fee however non-registered coaches/parents/friends can purchase a ticket during pre-registration process for $10.


Weather Concerns

Tampa could be hot in May! Daytime temperatures can rise above 90 degrees during mid-day. Humidity levels can be as high creating very uncomfortable conditions. Bring a hat with you, limit your time in the sun, and drink plenty of fluids. The LOC will provide appropriate shade for staging and plenty of water. Some sunscreen will be available at the medical tent. Bottled water will be available at all competition venues. Head of delegations should plan to bring or purchase shade tents for their individual teams.


Restrooms

Accessible restrooms will be available at each venue. Catheter bags are to be emptied in the restrooms only.

Due to the heat and humidity athletes are expected to bag and tie their disposable hygiene items prior to disposing of them in the waste receptacles.