On a crisp Sunday morning, Katie Chasar waits at the starting line in her racing wheelchair beneath a red and blue balloon arch.
At the sound of “”Riders set!”” and a clap from a wood block, she and the other 13 wheelchair racers began the first of six and a half laps around the UA Mall for the first race of the 12th annual Jim Click Run ‘n’ Roll competition.
Chasar said she has never been in a road race before. A junior from North Wales, Pa., she is one of the high school students who came to the UA as part of the Adaptive Athletics Department’s recruitment weekend.
“”It was hard,”” Chasar said after the race. “”It was fun to race with the school team.””
The high school students competed to be considered for the UA wheelchair athletics program, said Dave
Herr-Cardillo, assistant director of Adaptive Athletics.
Adaptive Athletics is part of the Disability Resource Center and provides an opportunity for disabled athletes to participate in a variety of sports on campus. The department recruits top junior racers and basketball players from around the United States to participate in the wheelchair race.
“”We show them (that) what you’re going to experience here is what an athlete over in collegiate athletics experiences,”” Herr-Cardillo said.
This year, the
The disability culture at the University of Arizona is as strong and positive as any disability culture you’d experience anywhere in the United States.
-Dave Herr-Cardillo,
assistant director, Adaptive Athletics
wheelchair 8-kilometer race began at 7 a.m., the open 8k run began at 7:40 a.m. and the 3k fun run/walk began at 7:45 a.m. in front of McKale Center.
More than 650 people of all ages ran or walked in the 8k race.
One runner was Jan Brychta, 52, a UA alumna who received her master’s degree from the College of Education in 1997. Her husband and sister also participated.
“”The best part about it is seeing that finish line,”” she said.
The Run ‘n’ Roll is the largest fundraiser for the Disability Resource Center, as it brings in two-thirds to three-quarters of the center’s annual operations budget, Herr-Cardillo said, adding that he expects this year’s event to raise the same proportion of funding. An exact dollar figure couldn’t be determined yesterday.
The Adaptive Athletics offers wheelchair teams in men’s and women’s basketball, tennis, track, road racing and rugby,
he said.
“”The disability culture at the University of Arizona is as strong and positive as any disability culture you’d experience anywhere in the United States,”” he said.
Education senior Jaclyn Daya has been on the UA track and road racing teams for four years. This year’s was her sixth Roll race, as Adaptive Athletics recruited her when she was a high school junior in New Jersey.
“”I love it,”” she said. “”I’m going to try and make it to Beijing (for the Olympics) next year.””
