HISTORY

Sports and exercise have been practiced for millennia. Organized activities for adults with disabilities have more recent roots, going back to the 1888 founding of the first Sport Club for the Deaf in Berlin, Germany.

While Guttman was organizing wheelchair sports in Britain, war veterans in California played basketball in the earliest recorded U.S. wheelchair athletic event. The popularity flourished, and, a decade later, the first national wheelchair games were held. These games also included individual and relay track events. With the success of these games, the National Wheelchair Athletic Association (NWAA) was formed.

The U.S. teams made their international debut in 1960 at the first Paralympics in Rome. The term “Paralympic” actually means “next to” or “paral­lel” to the Olympics. In the 40 years since, the num­ber and scope of sport and recreational opportunities has blossomed. The National Handicapped Sports and Recreation Association (NHSRA) was formed in 1967 to address the needs of winter athletes. It has more recently been reorganized as Disabled Sports USA (DS/USA). The 1970s saw the development of the United States Cerebral Palsy Athletic Association (USCPAA) and United States Association for Blind Athletes (USABA). In 1978, Public Law 95-606, the Amateur Sports Act, was passed. It recognized ath­letes with disabilities as part of the Olympic movement and paved the way for elite athletic achievement and recognition.

In the 1980s, a virtual population explosion of sport and recreation organizations occurred. Examples of these organizations include the United States Amputee Athletic Association (USAAA), Dwarf Athletic Association of America (DAAA), and the United States Les Autres Sports Association (USLASA; an associa­tion for those with impairments not grouped with any other sports organizations), the American Wheelchair Bowling Association (AWBA), National Amputee Golf Association, United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA), and the Handicapped Scuba Association.

While the history of sports for the DA can be traced back a century, the development of junior-level activities and competition can be measured only in a few short decades. The NWAA created a junior divi­sion in the early 1980s that encompassed children and adolescents from 6 to 18 years of age. It has since established the annual Junior Wheelchair Nationals. Junior-level participation and programming have been adopted by many other organizations, including the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA), DS/USA, and American Athletic Association of the Deaf (AAAD). Sports for youth with disabilities are increasingly available in many communities through Adapted Physical Education (APE) programs in the schools, inclusion programs in Scouting, Little League baseball, and others.