Adaptive Sports Iowa’s Grizzlies Roll into Coralville: Youth Wheelchair Basketball Team Hosts Regional Tournament Coralville, Iowa – The GreenState Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, Iowa is set to transform into a battleground for wheelchair basketball teams as the highly anticipated National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) Northern Conference Tournament presented by GreenState Credit Union takes place February 17-18, 2024. Sixteen teams from across the Midwest will converge to showcase their skills and determination in this exciting event. Wheelchair basketball, a dynamic and inspir ..read more

Empowering Every Body: CrossFit 8035 and Adaptive Sports Iowa Transform Lives Through Adaptive Fitness Initiative, Bridging Gaps for Health Equity Towards the end of the year, most people start reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the next year. Some people make resolutions, and gym memberships skyrocket. Not all gym memberships are created equal, however. For people with physical disabilities, it can be a challenge to find an accessible gym that has the equipment needed.  According to the CDC, people with physical disabilities are at higher risk for comorbid health conditio ..read more

Access to Adaptive Equipment Fuels the Fire to Compete Ally Darter, a junior at Dubuque Hempstead High School, loves to compete! She uses crutches or a wheelchair for mobility in her everyday life, and participates in wheelchair sports, including Adaptive Sports Iowa’s Track & Field program. In traditional track and field, the equipment required to compete usually just consists of the proper athletic shoes which cost around $200 (on the more expensive side). For athletes with physical disabilities, the costs to participate are much higher. Adaptive equipment for track and field can range ..read more

The Gift of Sports Given by Variety – the Children’s Charity His freshman year at Washington High School, Josh Anderson decided he wanted to participate in track and field. Josh uses crutches as a mobility device in his everyday life, so his track coaches started talking to him about possibilities. They knew of another student at a school nearby that competed in wheelchair track events. After some research, Josh and his coaches discovered Adaptive Sports Iowa. Adaptive Sports Iowa (ASI) provides sports and recreation opportunities for people with physical disabilities. ASI’s Track & Fiel ..read more

Athlete of the Year: Sam Spore Sam was born in East Africa with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. He received spinal and brain surgeries as an infant in Uganda. By the time he turned seven years old, his biological family was unable to continue caring for him. Sam lived at a children’s home near his village until his parents, Chad and Heidi Spore, adopted him at age twelve. He has had several surgeries since then: some to help him become more independent and some to help remove infections contracted in Uganda. Soon after arriving to the United States, Sam was hospitalized for a blood clot and a ..read more

Athlete Spotlight: Mary Helen Biller PreviousNext 123 Mary Helen Biller was born with spina bifida. Mary is currently retired, but for 25 years she spent her days as a preschool teacher and childcare provider. She is an active member and board member of the Spina Bifida Association of Iowa. In her free time, Mary enjoys spending time with family and working out so she can stay physically active. Mary has been involved with Adaptive Sports Iowa for about 12 years. She participates in ASI’s wheelchair tennis, winter ski experience and 8035 adaptive fitness programs, in addition to ..read more

On Friday, April 29th, 7 high school adaptive track and field participants competed in the prestigious Drake Relays! This group of the fastest wheelchair racers in the state completed a 400m wheelchair race and then got to stay and watch the college and Paralympic division immediately following their race. Here’s what a few of them have to say about the experience:  Aly Darter; Sophomore, Dubuque-Hempstead: Aly has been involved in track and field since 5th grade, and this is her second year at Drake Relays. Her favorite part of the event is racing against other adaptive athletes. She is ..read more

Grizzlies Invitational 2022 Presented by GreenState Credit Union This past weekend, October 15-16, 2022, Adaptive Sports Iowa hosted the first annual Grizzlies Invitational Presented by GreenState Credit Union. The tournament was held in the GreenState Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, Iowa and was a huge success! Five teams from across the Midwest were in attendance for this National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) sanctioned event, including Adaptive Sports Iowa’s very own youth wheelchair basketball team, the Grizzlies. While the Grizzlies unfortunately went 0-4 for the weekend, t ..read more

Ava Cantelope, age 15, was born with a type of spina bifida called myelomeningocele. This is a neural tube defect that causes a gap between the bones in the spine that allows the meninges and the spinal cord to protrude from the back in infants. Ava currently attends Norwalk High School and wants to be an FBI profiler when she gets older. She loves sports and spending time with friends and family. Ava regularly participates in Adaptive Sports Iowa’s sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and adaptive fitness programs. Her favorite program is sled hockey. She says, “Hockey is my ..read more

Coming up this fall, the director of Adaptive Sports Iowa will choose the ASI Athlete of the Year. Joel Fini, who participates in adult wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, and cycling through ASI, stood out as an outstanding athlete this year and is in the running for the award. Joel is a T7 paraplegic who was injured back in August of 1993. He works at Mediacom, and in his free time, he loves to kayak, fish, play pool (on his own and in tournaments), and ski. Joel became involved in Adaptive Sports Iowa when someone approached him at his daughter’s basketball game and introduced him to ..read more