Photo courtesy of Reed Hoffmann
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A competitor races along the track on the sixth day of the Move United 2021 Junior Nationals in Denver on July 23, 2021.
The city of Hoover has been chosen to serve as host for a national recreational sport competition for youth and adults with physical, visual or intellectual disabilities in 2023 and 2024.
The Hoover Metropolitan Complex will serve as the hub for the Move United Nationals during a weeklong event in July of both of those years, Hoover Parks and Recreation Director Erin Colbaugh announced this week.
The event is expected to draw more than 400 participants from across the country to compete in seven sports: archery, paratriathlon, para powerlifting, shooting, swimming, wheelchair tennis, and track and field, Colbaugh said.
Counting family members and spectators, the competitions are expected to bring more than 10,000 people to the area and account for about 800 hotel room nights, she said.
In addition to events being held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the Hoover Met tennis complex and the Finley Center, other events are scheduled to take place at Hoover High School, the Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood and the Birmingham Crossplex, Colbaugh said.
The Lakeshore Foundation and Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau are working as partners with the city of Hoover to host the event.
As the host site, the city of Hoover will be expected to spend about $175,000 to help put the event on, but that includes some in-kind services, Colbaugh said.
Move United, an affiliate of the National Olympic and Paralympic Committee, accepted host applications from numerous cities across the country and narrowed its list down to four semifinalists before doing site visits and deciding on Hoover, said Shuan Butcher, the communications manager for the organization.
Move United liked the collaboration it saw between Hoover, the Lakeshore Foundation and the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the facilities at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex were very impressive, Butcher said.
Move United has been holding its national competitions since 1957. It began as a competition for adult athletes and expanded to include youth in 1985. Then the adult portion of the competition fizzled out after 1995, and it was open from that point only to people age 22 and younger, Butcher said.
However, Move United has recognized the need to expand opportunities for competitions for adults with disabilities and in 2023 will reopen the event to adult competitors.
“There is a real need for additional opportunities for adaptive athletes over the age of 22 to not only come together but also to compete,” Move United Executive Director Glenn Merry said in a news release. “We are excited to provide a platform for all athletes in our community to showcase their talent starting next year.”
Athletes still must qualify to compete at the national competition by placing at local or regional competitions sanctioned or approved by Move United, a national governing body or a high school athletic association.
Move United has at least 200 member organizations in 43 states and provides opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in more than 70 adaptive sports, but the list of sports is narrowed down to seven for the summer national competition.
However, there will be clinics with demonstrations of other sports for the athletes to see while they are at the event to help people realize other opportunities that exist for them, Butcher said.
Move United’s national competition was held in Denver last year and will be in Denver again this year, he said. About 225 competitors are expected this year, but organizers expect the youth portion of the event to continue to grow about 10% per year, and the addition of the adult competitors should bring a bigger boost in participants, he said.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, in a news release, said the city of Hoover makes an intentional effort to make sure everyone feels included and empowered.
“We are excited to share our facilities with the Move United team and those of all abilities,” Brocato said. “We also look forward to welcoming all of the athletes to our area and showing them an experience filled with smiles and Southern charm.”
