World T.E.A.M. Sports’ Adventure Team Challenge Brings Together Adaptive and Able-Bodied Athletes

August 26, 2016

Grand Junction area to host September 23-25 Event

This September 23-25, 60 athletes from 13 states across the country will travel to Grand Junction, Colorado for World T.E.A.M. Sports’ tenth annual Adventure Team Challenge Colorado.

The three-stage adventure race sends teams of five athletes, including three able-bodied and two adaptive athletes, one being a wheel-chair user, along narrow single track mountain bike trails, rafting through the Colorado River’s raging rapids, hiking up rugged rock outcroppings and through backcountry regions following a detailed map.

To successfully complete the Adventure Team Challenge, it takes physical stamina, strategic decision-making, exceptional cooperation and solid teamwork between the entire team.

“This was one of the best experiences of my life,” said an able-bodied athlete following the September 2015 Challenge. “It was a challenging event in a beautiful location. Being provided the chance to compete with disabled athletes – who are more athletic than me – was amazing.”

Adaptive athletes in the Challenge include military veterans who were injured in the line of duty, along with civilians and first-responders who have experienced life-changing accidents or illnesses. Participants have included paraplegics and quadriplegics, amputees, blind and deaf athletes, and athletes living with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.

For all of the participating athletes and volunteers, camping out under the stars throughout the Challenge creates long-lasting friendships that continue long after they return home.

The success and participation of teams and athletes is made possible through charitable donations from friends, family, and a host of other companies and organizations directly involved in the support of persons with disabilities and our injured military veterans.

About World T.E.A.M. Sports

World T.E.A.M. Sports is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization chartered in North Carolina and headquartered in Holbrook, New York. Since 1993, World T.E.A.M. Sports has organized athletic events for disabled and able bodied citizens – mountain climbing, white water rafting, biking, and more. Four things always happen at our events: (1) Disabled participants build self-confidence and physical fitness; (2) The disabled provide a role model for other disabled citizens, encouraging them to take up physical activities; (3) The disabled become a moving inspiration to other participants and to spectators when they see that disabled individuals can meet challenges beyond anyone’s imagination; and (4) The disabled and able-bodied participants learn to work as a team to overcome those challenges. World T.E.A.M. Sports changes lives through sports.