The Challenged Athletes Foundation® (CAF) has announced the distribution of more than $1.3 million in grants through its Access for Athletes program. Grants were distributed to 1,102 athletes with disabilities in 27 countries. The funding will pay for adaptive sports equipment (such as handcycles, sports chairs, and prosthetics), training and coaching, and competition expenses that will enable physically challenged athletes of all ages and abilities take part in life-affirming sports, according to CAF.
Highlights of CAF’s 2012 grant distribution include:
- 83 percent of grant requests received by CAF were approved, an 8 percent gain over the previous year.
- 58 percent are first-time recipients of a CAF grant.
- 10 percent are Paralympic hopefuls (either qualified or attending trials).
- 44 percent reported an income of less than $20,000 per year.
- 84 percent of grantees are men; 16 percent are women.
- All ages are represented (the youngest grantee is three years old, the oldest is 83).
- Most requested items: basketball chairs (117), competition expenses (485), coaching and training expenses (93), and handcycles (108).
“Most medical insurance companies do not cover the adaptive sporting equipment challenged athletes need to not only get involved, but remain competitive,” said Virginia Tinley, CAF’s executive director. “CAF exists to help bridge the economic barriers to participation in sports for physically challenged athletes. We want to make sure that the people who receive our grants really need our help. Each application is carefully reviewed by our staff and scored using a custom-designed software program.”
