Student Government members considered a resolution Thursday for the creation of an adaptive sports and recreation program, an initiative that would allow for more team-based recreational opportunities for students with mobility issues or visual impairments. The program’s purpose is to better include students with disabilities in activities on campus.

In the resolution, Erin Gleim, Students with Disabilities agency director, wrote that the initiative is part of an effort to expand and “provide resources for the overall health and wellness of all students and staff.”

The program is still in its early stages of development, according to Kelli Bradley, director of Services for Students with Disabilities. The initiative could be in place as soon as this fall,
Gleim said.

For the 2014-2015 school year, 2,289 students are registered with Services for Students with Disabilities. 

 “At this time, we are still assessing the needs, logistics, and interest [of students],” Bradley said in an email.

Gleim said an adaptive sports program could potentially be incorporated into TeXercise, an exercise program that allows students to take fitness classes at the University. It might also exist as an independent program, and include activities such as adaptive wheelchair rugby or basketball, for the disabled community.

The resolution is a joint project between Student Government, the Division of Recreational Sports, Services for Students with Disabilities and University Health Services. Jennifer Speer, associate director of Communications, Assessment & Development in the Division of Recreational Sports, said RecSports has been in contact with Gleim to plan details of the program.

“We want to make sure we provide recreational opportunities for everyone on campus,” Speer said. “If we are able to provide a service for students that is needed in this specific population, then that would be very beneficial.”

Speer said the University offered similar projects in the past, but the programs disbanded because of low attendance.

“Interest with students kind of diminished,” Speer said. “We would work with St. David’s to have them come over and use the space for their basketball [and] wheelchair rugby programs.”

Other universities, such as Texas A&M, University of Houston and UT-Arlington, have adaptive sports programs. In A&M’s student organization Aggie Adaptive Sports, students host recreational events for those with physical disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs. Tracey Forman, advisor for Aggie Adaptive Sports, said the program is still small because of a smaller community of people with disabilities in College Station.  

“Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio — they have enough people in their community; they have centers,” Forman said. “Ours is very recrational, noncompetitive at this point. [Our members] would love
to get more people involved.”

Gleim said she hopes to look at other universities’ programs to help mold UT’s adaptive program. 

“It will be a big program and undertaking,” Gleim said. “We’re just in the planning stages right now, but we’ve been given the green light, so we’re going for it.”

SG plans to vote on the resolution next week, Gleim said.