Be sure to check out Hadley’s Get Up and Go! Discussion Group each month!
Books
Encyclopedia of Sports Recreation for People with Visual Impairments
This book is available on Bookshare and NLS Talking Books, and covers a wide variety of adapted sports including such sports as tennis, kayaking, golf, archery, fitness and more.
Fitness for Individuals Who are Visually Impaired or Deafblind APH
Ten Thousand Steps: Cane Not Included A Guide to Fitness Tech for Blind Users by Ana Dresner National Braille Press
Interview with Ana Dresner on Mystic Access (begins about 20:30 where she talks about getting into fitness as a blind/VIP participant and some concerns people may have.
Podcasts
Eyes Free Fitness ® (Blind Alive)
Free Accessible Fitness for All
Download these and put on a Talking Book Player to get a fitness program started in your own home! Background info from AccessWorld
Podcast no longer updated but archives are available
Check out the podcast number 52 on volunteers and “sighties,” in which he interviews Kyle Robidoux about his involvement working with volunteers and peer support groups for MABVI (Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired)
Bill Kociaba, legally blind, interviews variety of fitness experts
Yoga Videos
Yoga Video From Montreal Association for the Blind Mackay Rehabilitation Center discusses techniques for training and consumer interviews
Yoga video Marty Klein PR for blindyoga.net where he sells a 5 CD pack on yoga for beginners who are blind/VIP
Rousettus Yoga Supplies and Videos
Specializing in products for yoga practitioners who are blind.
Websites and Organizations
Adapted Athletic/Sport Organizations at APH Physical Education Recreation and Health
Audio dart board sale and supplies
Michael Lloyd of BlindSports Podcast is a runner who has participated in NYC Marathon, among other events. Tips for runners.
Blind Sport Resources (from blindsportpodcast.com)
Very comprehensive list of sports associations for individuals who are blind/VIP
Lawrence Gunther’s blog—fishing enthusiast and winner of the California International Blind Sailing Regatta in 2010.
Dean Dunbar, extreme adventurer offers resources for some of the sporting opportunities open to athletes who are blind.
Motivational speaker and athlete.
International Blind Bowls Association
Oversees 12 member countries supporting competitive lawn bowling
International Blind Golf Association (IBGA)
Twenty member countries including USA and Canada and several countries with their own national association.
International Blind Sports Association
International federation working to promote sports specifically for blind and partially sighted athletes.
Providing physical fitness opportunities in Olympic-type sports for children and adults of all intellectual abilities.
A website pairing runners and guides
Association of blind cricket players internationally
USA
American Association of Adapted Sports Programs
Education-based adapted athletics programs
American Blind Bowling Association
Promoting interest in bowling among individuals who are visually impaired or blind
Promotes the sport of golf for players who are blind or visually impaired
“Same game, different ball.”
A Yahoo group for tandem cyclists who are blind or visually impaired
Offering both a Paralympic and Community program
San Diego, CA organization pairing sighted cyclist with blind cyclists on tandem bicycles
Blind Tandem Cycling Connection
Organization connecting blind cyclists looking for sighted cyclists to ride tandem bikes. Site includes database of “Stokers” (the cyclists who do not steer) with “Captains” (cyclists who steer the bike) and tips for getting started.
Summer camp programs throughout the U.S. sponsored by Christian Record
Courage USA Ice Hockey for the Blind
Newly formed hockey league modeled after Courage Canada league.
Contains a searchable database of chapter locations
National Beep Baseball Association
Committed to fostering competition and camaraderie through the game of beep baseball
Northwest Association for Blind Athletes
Includes the state of WA, OR, ID, and MT and offers recreational programing for all abilities
Nordic (cross-country) ski events held annually in various locations to introduce novice and beginning skiers with vision loss or reduced mobility to the sport
United States Association for Blind Athletes (USABA)
Provides sports opportunities for athletes of all ages who are blind or visually impaired
United States Blind Golf Association (USBGA)
Expanding the opportunities for golfers who are blind or visually impaired
A division of the U.S. Olympics Committee dedicated to promoting excellence in the lives of athletes eligible for Paralympics
Adaptive Sailing Sailor Resources: list of programs nationally offering adaptive sailing
Australia
Australian Blind Bowlers Association
Promoting and supporting lawn bowlers with blindness and visual impairment
Oversees competition in all mainland states.
Promote and coordinate golf among athletes who are blind or visually impaired
Membership includes sporting organizations for athletes with vision impairments
Blind Sports and Recreation of Victoria
Sports and recreational opportunities for blinfd and visually impaired people of Victoria and surrounding area.
Blind Sports of New South Wales (NSW)
Sports and social recreation for individuals with blindness or vision loss.
Blind Sports South Australia (SA)
Supporting over 10 sports for blind and visually impaired athletes
Blind and Vision Impaired Tenpin Bowling Australia (BVIT)
Promoting Tenpin bowling
Tandem cycling opportunities in Canberra region for blind and visually impaired cyclists
Affiliated with Goalball Australia supporting opportunities for training and competition
Provides community access to goalball sporting activities
NSW (New South Wales) Goalball Association
Canada
Alberta Sports and Recreation Association for the Blind (ASRAB)
Supporting and encouraging competitive sports programs
Provides competitive and recreational sporting opportunities
British Columbia Blind Sports and Recreation Association (BCBSRA)
Supports athletes of all ages throughout Britich Columbia who are blind or visually impaired.
Canadian Blind Sports Association
The national governing body for goalball and provides support for all Canadian athletes who are blind or visually impaired
Canadian hockey league for hockey players who are blind or visually impaired
Manitoba Blind Sports Association (MBSA)
Providing sporting opportunities for Manitobans who are blind or visually impaired
Ontario Blind Sports Association
Supporting athletes at all levels in Ontario, Canada
Sports and recreational opportunities for anyone on Prince Edward Island with a physical disability.
Association sportive des aveugles du Québec
Recognized as the governing body for competitive sports in Quebec
Saskatchewan Blind Sports Association
Promotes national and provincial sporting opportunities. Check out their “dragon boat” timed races.
Promotes competitive golf and sportsmanship
Great Britain
See the section on crossbow and black powder shooting!
Aquabats Sports and Social Club for the Blind
London-based, promoting non-competitive activities
Archery club for British veterans with vision loss
Making sports and physical activity more accessible
British Blind Sport Archery Section
A division of BBS for archers with a vision impairment
Providing access to training, support and competition for golfers with a vision loss
London-based to promote cycling opportunities for cyclists of all abilities
Opportunities for snow sport activities for all abilities
Creating a culture where every person in Wales is hooked on sport
Supporting golfers in Ireland who are blind or visually impaired
Promoting goalball clubs throughout the UK.
National Blind Football League
London Sports Club for the Blind
London-based, includes schedule of rowing, swimming, bowling, and holiday activities
London-based providing sporting activities for all ages and abilities
Based in Merseyside to develop inclusive sproting opportunities.
Dedicated to solely to sprts and recreational opportunities for visually impaired people
Visually Impaired Sailing Association of Great Britain
Delivering high quality and enjoyable sailing to the visually impaired community
New Zealand
Achilles International New Zealand
Supports athletes of all abilities at local. National, and international levels
Providing sporting opportunities nationally
Goalball New Zealand (NZ) Facebook Page
Creating opportunities for both recreational and competitive sailing
New Zealand Blind Cricket Association
Oversees all aspects of blind cricket in New Zealand and is part of the World Blind Cricket Council.
New Zealand Blind Lawn Bowlers Association
Supports both recreational and competitive lawn bowling and is a member of the International Blind Bowls Association
If you have a resources you’d like to share, please forward to stevenk@hadley.edu for consideration.