Thursday, April 10, 2003

WILMINGTON, NC – UNC Wilmington will host the second annual Accessible Recreation Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, April 25, in the parking lots of Trask Coliseum and Hanover Hall.

Events will include clinics and demonstrations highlighting various recreational opportunities open to people who are wheelchair users as well as those with other physical disabilities, said Dr. Dan Johnson, assistant professor in UNCW’s Department of Health and Applied Human Sciences. He teaches in the department’s therapeutic recreation curriculum.

“By cosponsoring Accessible Recreation Day, we hope to increase awareness and remove some of the barriers that exist as to the recreation possibilities open to people with disabilities,” Johnson said.

There will be demonstrations of wheelchair golf, tennis and basketball as well as dance clinics conducted by Atlanta-based Show Stoppers Dance Co. Amputees in Motion. Vendors of specialized recreational equipment will enable people with disabilities to “try out” a sport without having to purchase the equipment up front, said Johnson.

Accessible Recreation Day is collaborative effort by Coastal Carolina Partnership for Accessible Recreation which includes Coastal Rehabilitation Hospital at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, N.C. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Wilmington Disabled Athletic Association and UNCW’s Department of Health and Applied Human Sciences. Students from the department’s therapeutic recreation curriculum will assist with various clinics and demonstrations. Therapeutic recreation, which recently added 16 credit hours to its curriculum, is a program that prepares graduates to design and implement treatments to assist people with disabilities to live fuller lives.

“Our goal is to help people live regular lives – to pursue interests, play with friends and be part of their community,” said Johnson. “Our curriculum is designed to prepare graduates to develop strategies and programs that will allow people with disabilities to participate in recreational activities that will have a positive impact on their lives,” said Johnson. “People with disabilities sometimes become isolated and have fewer opportunities. Accessible Recreation Day is one way to show that people with disabilities can have many options in life.”

For more information, contact Dr. Johnson at 910/962-3659.