TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Adaptive Sports

Ireland Rolls Out the World’s First Disabled Golf Tour

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Golf ball at the edge of a hole.

The European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA), in partnership with The DP World Tour, has launched the newly-named G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour, which will feature a minimum of seven tournaments in 2022.

Kipp Popert, the top-ranked player in the World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability, said “The EDGA has been doing amazing work for more than 20 years and this new collaboration with The DP World Tour will create opportunities for more golfers with a disability to showcase their talents and compete on a global stage.”

To learn more about this new disabled golf tour, read the article from the Irish Times.

How Paralympic Videos from 2016 and 2021 Reflect Two Starkly Different Messages

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The 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil promoted the games through a series of exquisitely produced videos that show people with disabilities performing incredible maneuvers of skill in “Yes I can”, around the idea that disabled people are inspirational and can do anything.

In 2021, organizers for the Tokyo Summer Games sought to reject the idea of disabled people as inspiration or objects of pity, instead focusing on the reality of disabled people as equal members of society – with the same interests, desires and responsibilities as nondisabled people.

OUR TAKE: The evolution in messaging around the Paralympics is representative of the disability community’s move to set boundaries and reclaim their identity, with a particular focus on breaking down the barriers to inclusion – many of which are founded on an antiquated understanding of disability.

A Heavenly but Hair-raising Experience as Wheelchair User & Travel Agent Tries Skydiving

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Kristy Durso tandem skydiving over the State of Texas.

TravelAbility Advisory Board member and owner of Incredible Memories Travel Kristy Durso recently jumped out of an airplane – skydiving with Skydive Lonestar in Luling, Texas.

A wheelchair user, Kristy is proof positive of the demand for thrilling accessible activities within the travel industry and the opportunity for businesses that meet the needs of disabled travelers.

To check out Kristy’s blood pressure-raising experience, watch the video of her jumping out of the airplane.

Crusing for a Bruising? Grand Rapids Mixes It Up as Wheelchair Rugby Returns After Covid Hiatus

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Close-up view of man in athletic wheelchair with hand on one of the wheels.

It was a full court for the home tournament for the Grand Rapids Thunder Wheelchair Rugby Team. A big morale boost following a cancellation last year due to the pandemic.

To learn more, read the original story from FOX 17 Online.