Blog

Wheelchair Rugby a Hit in Burbank

Andrew Skinner noviembre 30, 2022 Noticias, Notable, SCI

Wheelchair Rugby a Hit in Burbank

Check out this great article from MyBurbank on our recent Rugby Clinic. The City of Burbank and Triumph Foundation will now have wheelchair rugby as a new addition to the Parks and Recreation Department drop-in gym sport offerings.

Article

Glen Gregos has been in a wheelchair his entire adult life and has always taken advantage of any opportunity he can get to participate in a sport.

Gregos, 65, a Burroughs High grad, is now getting something he has waited decades for.
The City of Burbank Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the Triumph Foundation, kicked off its wheelchair rugby program at McCambridge Park. The city is hoping to add more adaptive sports.

“Fifty years ago the disabled people didn’t have (this).  Now the kids can participate. They can feel like a normal person for the few hours they are out here,” said the 65-year-old Gregos. “To me, the next generation will be a lot different and have all of this offered throughout the city.”

Skinner, who has been in a wheelchair since a 2004 spinal cord injury, started the foundation in 2008 and has worked to give opportunities to disabled individuals a chance to play sports. He has been a part of the Northridge Knights, a wheelchair rugby team based in the San Fernando Valley, that has been sponsored by Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

“We used to have a weekly practice, but it has been closed since the Pandemic because we didn’t have a gymnasium,” Skinner said. Skinner said the Knights, which is a team of about 15 members, is now looking to call McCambridge its home. “The City of Burbank reached out to us about their desire to create activities for people with disabilities,” Skinner said. “Adaptive recreation and sports is important because it gives people an opportunity to push the limits of their ability.

The Knights have been successful enough to travel to a number of parts around the country to compete. “Our goal is to develop athletes to play on our team,” Skinner added. Burbank Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Diego Cevallos assured the participants that rugby is just the beginning. “This is not only going to be a one-day event, this is going to become a staple in Burbank as one of our broadband programs,” Cevallos said.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Check out this AMAZING VIDEO and article de Spectrum News 1 on our Burbank Rugby Clinics.

"BURBANK, Calif. — Wheelchair rugby, one of the most popular adaptive sports around the world, is now being offered as an ongoing drop-in sport at the McCambridge Recreation Center in Burbank. The new program was made possible through a partnership between the city of Burbank and the Triumph Foundation, a local nonprofit organization that enriches the lives of people living with disabilities through adaptive recreation."


Comparte este artículo

es_MX