By: Doug Miller
Sunday, October 4​ Adaptive Sports New England played host to the Gateway to Gold U.S. Paralympic Talent ID Day. The Steve Tisch Sports & Fitness Center at Tufts University was filled with athletes ready to showcase their skills and talents in their respective sporting events. Among the crowd were multiple Paralympic coaches and two Paralympians who will be competing in the 2016 games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The events included Paralympic biathlon/skiing, rowing, swimming and track & field. Adaptive Sports NE began the day with three goals in mind: to learn about the Paralympics, to test athletic abilities and to connect young people with disabilities to the community that surrounds adaptive sports in the New England area.

Paralympic tryouts bring together youth who have physical or visual impairments to learn, practice and compete in a variety of sports including track & field, swimming, tennis, and cross country skiing. Gateway to Gold seeks to increase participation in Paralympic sports and support athletes at all levels of skill using expert coaching, camaraderie and shared ideas among Paralympic sport mentors, protégés and peers.

On site to help mentor the aspiring athletes was Paralympian Dartanyon Crockett and three time Paralympian Jessica Long. Jessica, who has 17 medals in various swimming events, says she is “solely focused on Rio.” Rio will be her fourth Paralympics where she will be competing in all seven Paralympic swimming events. On her Olympic experience Jessica said, “it was really cool to meet other Paralympic athletes. You get to meet friends from all over the world and get to travel with team USA.”

Paralympian Dartanyon Crockett, who specializes in Paralympic Judo, spoke about the problem adaptive sports has attracting young athletes. “The biggest obstacle to getting involved in adaptive sports is just the stigma that is placed on disabilities in general. The biggest thing I’ve learned from being involved in adaptive sports and being around Paralympic athletes is that these are some of the most incredible athletes and incredible people I’ve ever been around in my entire life. It’s about being confident in your sport and not being looked at as a disabled athlete but being looked at as an athlete.” Crockett goes on to say, “it’s hard to find people to put into adaptive sports. Sports has shown me a lot about myself, about my limitations and a lot about my capabilities. It’s opened a lot of doors for me and different opportunities to inspire and be kind of a guiding light for people in my situation. Whether they are looking into adaptive sports or sports in general.”

Gateway to Gold gave all athletes a chance to shine. Adaptive Sports New England President Joe Walsh said “it’s a great opportunity to get involved in sports. Many kids with disabilities don’t have the opportunity to get involved in sports except in an environment where

they are at a disadvantage and so it’s nice to have an environment such as Paralympic competition or adaptive competition where you can really compete against athletes that similar types of disabilities that you have and therefore be on a level playing field to really go after it.”

Go after it they did. Athletes with various abilities and skills go to showcase their talent and measure their abilities. Some, like Jessica and Dartanyon, may see immediate success in Rio 2016, others may see future success in Tokyo 2020 and others may just continue to share their success with their friends and family cheering them on from the sidelines. One thing is for sure, however, all in attendance at the Gateway to Gold event will be going home winners.