The City of Greensboro’s Parks and Recreation Department doesn’t want area residents to feel left out of competitive sports just because they face a physical challenge.

That’s why the department’s “Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation” arm is partnering with the UNCG Community and Therapeutic Recreation unit to hold an event that will show people the possibilities of competition with a disability.

The expo will feature Paralympic sports and other games, including adaptive rock climbing, adaptive mountain biking, seated volleyball, goal ball, bocce ball, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.

The Adaptive Sports Expo will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Leonard J. Kaplan Center for Wellness. Set your GPS to 1301 W. Gate City Blvd. in Greensboro.

Admission is, of course, free, and you don’t even have to let anyone know ahead of time that you’re coming – there’s no registration required to take part.

Those who choose to come out to the Sports Expo will be encouraged to try a variety of adaptive sports.  That category of sports uses amended rules or equipment meant to help people with disabilities enjoy the game.

While the city and UNCG’s event will focus on those with physical challenges, expo participants don’t need to have a disability in order to play.

In addition to having various games taking place, there will be booths set up at the Center for Wellness that provide information about various organizations in the community that are meant to help participants find support and resources.

While this event is being held for fun – as an introduction to various sports – the popularity of serious paralympic games has grown tremendously worldwide over the last 75 years since they first got their start.

The official Paralympics competition began in 1948 when a small group of wounded British World War II veterans held the games. In 1960, the event was held in Rome and it drew 400 athletes.

Today, the Paralympics is one of the world’s largest sporting events: The 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris featured nearly 4,500 athletes from 170 nations.

 The 2024 games included 549 medal events across 22 sports. Athletes with similar impairments compete in the events and medical experts evaluate the impact of the athletes’ impairments on their ability to perform.

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