SportsAbility is Back, Baby!!

We are so excited to announce that we will be back to a full SportsAbility in the spring with a few extras! The main dates for SportsAbility in Tallahassee are March 23-25, 2023. This will include:

• March 23rd from 6-8 pm – Opening Ceremony, Baseball and Lawn Games at the Miracle Field at Messer Park
• March 24th from 10AM -2PM – Resource EXPO and Numerous Indoor Sports (Tennis, Sit Volleyball, Target Sports to name a few) at Tallahassee Community College
• March 25th – Outdoor Sports including Sit Water-skiing, Boat Rides, Horseback Riding, Kayaking, Biking & More at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens

The events are all free for participants thanks to our sponsors and grantors. We will be sending out more information on how organizations may participate in the Resource EXPO. Please check the website for continual updates in addition to our social media and emails.

We will also be holding SportsAbility Samplers around Florida. These will be events held in conjunction with our partners. Be on the lookout for more information.

Don’t forget our Virtual Reality (VR) SportsAbility Park. It is available 24 hours a day /7 days a week. We will also be holding special events inside the VR Park. For detailed videos on how to get started, visit https://www.sportsability.org/sportsability-vr-park.

Stay well friends!

Laurie LoRe-Gussak
Executive Director, SportsAbility Alliance

July 26 was the day that the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. That was 1990. That was the same time that I started the FDOA, now SportsAbility Alliance, to enhance lives and to do the same thing as the ADA. That is most simply put is to provide the opportunity to participate in all aspects of life. We focus on recreation and active leisure to make a difference.

The Florida Disabled Outdoors Association (FDOA) was created as a direct result of my own personal life-changing experience as a TBI survivor.  The three major lessons learned from the many challenges to a successful rehabilitation were also the inspiration to create an organized effort to affect the quality of life for many individuals, families and society.  The understanding and recognition of the value and the need for inclusion of people with disabilities into our communities is lesson one.  Secondly, the importance and role that active living plays in our lives, not only as a valuable rehabilitation tool, but also as a necessity of normal human development.  The third and most important lesson learned and why the FDOA exists today is the need and benefit of helping others.  

These major truths really define who we are and what we do.  These personal actualizations are what drive me and are the guiding principles of my leadership and life-long quest.  I have found much personal success and the FDOA will continue to succeed and grow with our organization’s culture of enthusiasm, dedication and determination.  We will continue to change the world by our path of health, happiness and productivity. 

Happy 32nd Anniversary to the ADA and to our SportsAbility Alliance.
Active Leisure for Life!

Stay well friends!

David Jones
Founder, SportsAbility Alliance

What is the most common cause of long-term disability amongst adults? Stroke (National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Stroke Inpatient Hospitalizations, 2019). Backward walking activates more muscles in comparison to forward walking, targets knee flexion and helps to activate those muscles
that haven't been firing correctly because of the aftermath of the 
stroke.