USABA Announces Events for Athletes with Sight Impairments

The United States Association of Blind Athletes has released its calendar of sports events for spring, summer, fall and winter 2013. Information on also be obtained from the USABA’s website, http://www.usaba.org/.

• 2013 USABA Northeast Regional Goalball Tournament: Westmont, NJ, April 13-14

• Lean to Race Cycling Development Camp: Colorado Springs, CO, May 1-8

• Michigan Junior Sports Education Camp: Kalamazoo, MI, May 5-7

• Michigan Senior Sports Education Camp: Kalamazoo, MI, May 8-11

• Michigan State Games, Kalamazoo, MI, May 10-11

• 2013 USABA Western Regional Goalball Tournament: Salt Lake City, UT, May 17-18

•  Adaptive Rowing Camp: Oklahoma City, OK, May 20-26

• 2013 USABA Goalball National Championship Tournament: Vancouver, WA, June 20-23

• 2013 IBSA World Youth Championships (WYC) and IBSA Parapan American Games: Colorado Springs, CO, July 9-15

• USABA National Powerlifting Championships in Conjunction with Rocky Mountain State Games: Colorado Springs, CO, July 26-28

• 11th Annual IBSA World Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships: Beijing, China, September 5-14

• Lakeshore Regional Youth Goalball Tournament: Birmingham, AL, November 1-3

• 2013 USABA High School Goalball National Championships: St. Augustine, FL, November 7-9

• 2013 USABA Marathon National Championships: Sacramento, CA, December 8-8

About USABA:
The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) is a Colorado-based 501(c) (3) organization that provides life-enriching sports opportunities for every individual with a visual impairment.  A member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, USABA provides athletic opportunities in various sports including, but not limited to track and field, nordic and alpine skiing, biathlon, judo, wrestling, swimming, tandem cycling, powerlifting and goalball (a team sport for the blind and visually impaired).

Sports opportunities allow people who are blind and visually impaired to develop independence through competition, without unnecessary restrictions. Like sighted people, the blind can share in the thrill of victory and the reality of defeat.

In addition to providing people who are blind and visually impaired with athletic opportunities, the second part of USABA's mission is to change society's negative stereotypes concerning the abilities of blind people as well as other disabled individuals.  Combating stereotypes is achieved by both educating the public through various media avenues as well as by training athletes to enter schools and community organizations to directly address disability issues.

USABA was founded by Dr. Charles Buell in 1976 with the purpose of improving the lives of people who are blind and visually impaired. That year, 27 young men and women were selected to represent the United States in the first Olympiad for the Disabled in Toronto, Canada. As a result of this Olympic involvement, a group of national leaders, educators and coaches of the visually impaired met to discuss the need for an organization to structure, promote and sponsor competitions for people who are blind and visually impaired throughout the United States.

Today, USABA has evolved into a national organization that provides sports opportunities to thousands of children, youth, adults and veterans who are blind and visually impaired.  USABA programs serve athletes of all ages and abilities from local grassroots programs to the elite Paralympic level.

To learn more about USABA and the sports it offers, go to the website,http://www.usaba.org/.