Adaptive Sports NW is making athletics accessible to all in Portland

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – The Mittleman Community Center in southwest Portland hosted Adaptive Sports Northwest’s ‘Get in the Game’ community-building fundraiser on Saturday.

Adaptive Sports Northwest has been helping physically and visually impaired children and adults to be active and involved for more than four decades now, and this night was a great time to get in the game.

Evita Rush is an athlete with ASNW.

“A night like this is beautiful I mean, being in this community and being around like-minded people and people we share lived experiences,” Rush said.

From wheelchair basketball to sitting volleyball, power soccer and pickleball, track events, swimming and goalball. They were all on display for anyone to try out and learn how to give a new sport a spin.

Jen Armbruster is the executive director of Adaptive Sports Northwest and a four-time Paralympic medalist with the USA Goalball team.

“We’ve almost increased almost 33% since last year, which is great. We’re above pre-COVID numbers now so we are back to where we were and a little bit more,” Armbruster said. “Adaptive Sports has opened my eyes to the possibility of being a competitive athlete and losing my vision it still gave me an outlet to be able to be that competitor that I wanted to be.”

The goal of ASNW is to support the development of self-confidence, socialization and independence through connection and inspiration.

Griffin Barlow is another athlete with ASNW.

“[We’re] just another average human being, basically, we’re people just trying to survive and make friends and getting love and support,” Barlow said.

Zoraya Barlow said, “They don’t see us just as different, we’re like everybody else.”

Adaptive Sports Northwest offers clinics and practice for recreational play as well as tournaments for more advanced players.

“I encourage people to definitely do it,” Katie Alford said. “It’ll be scary, it was scary when I first started but I’m glad, I’m more than grateful, and it was my parents actually who forced me to do it because I needed to do some activity back in the day and I haven’t looked back since.”

Adaptive Sports Northwest is always looking for help and people can learn more via their website here.

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