HOOVER, Ala. – Move United’s largest and longest-standing national sports championship event for athletes with a physical disability, visual impairment, and intellectual disability is set to return to Hoover, Ala., from July 12-18.
Now in its 67th year, more than 400 athletes with disabilities and coaches are expected to participate in this weeklong series of events, which include competitions, clinics, educational sessions, and social opportunities. The sports contests include archery, powerlifting, paratriathlon, shooting, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair tennis.
The Hartford Nationals is conducted by Move United, a community-based adaptive sports organization. Athletes who compete at this event must have qualified through one of more than 30 sanctioned competitions that previously took place across the country throughout the Move United member network. In addition, this national competition has been a stepping stone for many athletes to progress and compete at an international level, including the Paralympic Games.
“With the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris just around the corner and the return of the Paralympics to the U.S. in 2028, many of the athletes competing here could very well represent Team USA at one of those upcoming competitions,” says Glenn Merry, Move United executive director. Representatives from several U.S. National Governing Bodies will be onsite to assist with classification, clinics, and other activities.
At the event, The Hartford, along with champion wheelchair basketball player Matt Scott, will surprise athletes with their own custom-fit adaptive sports equipment. In addition, one athlete will also be selected to receive The Hartford’s Human Achievement Award, given to an athlete nominated by their peers who advocates for the adaptive sports movement and inspires others as a role model. The award recipient will receive a $2,500 training/travel grant to further their athletic pursuits in adaptive sports.
“We are on a mission to increase participation in adaptive sports by making competitions, local events, and equipment more accessible to youth and adult athletes,” says Claire Burns, Hartford Nationals chief marketing and communications officer. “Adaptive athletes pay approximately 15 times more for equipment than non-adaptive athletes, and we are committed to helping remove cost as a barrier to participation.”
The Hartford Nationals is hosted locally by the City of Hoover and Lakeshore Foundation with additional support from the Birmingham Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
