(Miami, Florida)-Next Thursday, September 24th starting at 8.30am, City of Miami Parks, Miami Dade Parks and the Jackson Memorial Hospital Recreation Therapy Department and Rehabilitation Center will meet up at Curtis Park, 1901 NW 24 Avenue, to launch a new hand cycling program. Targeted for individuals with physical impairments, the goal of the program is to introduce potential athletes to the sport and produce Paralympics athletes for upcoming Paralympics games. 

With talks of cut backs and doing with out, the general conversation in the City of Miami is not focused on starting new programs. Yet with hard times, comes the unique ability to think out of the box and realize this is the time when organizations can pool resources for a common goal. ‘The key is using each partners strength” says Nadia Arguelles, Program Coordinator for the City of Miami Sandra Delucca Developmental Center, “ I love partnerships, when you collaborate you get to do more when everyone brings their expertise and resources together, we can make magical things happen.”

With the current economic climate, for each organization on their own this program might have been a lofty goal but the three partners together give it a great chance of success. 

Through the City of Miami Park’s Sandra Delucca Developmental Center, state-of-art hand cycling chairs are waiting for athletes to put them to work. Beyond the equipment and training site location, the City of Miami is providing staff that will focus on conditioning and strength training for the participants who will have to build endurance and upper body strength that will allow for competitive speed and distance. 

Miami Dade Parks Leisure Access brings two additional hand cycles and a team of Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists. The staff and Miami Dade Parks have years of experience in providing sports programs for individuals with physical impairments and will be key in adapting the program to work with any required accommodations. 

Through the Jackson Memorial Hospital Recreation Therapy Department and Rehabilitation Center come the future athletes and training support. Staff from Jackson will provide education to the patients and park staff on spinal cord injuries, precautions, benefits and the proper way to handle transfers between wheelchairs and hand cycle bikes.

For these athletes who have already experienced a life changing moment have the opportunity to do so again. The program provides an opportunity to turn everything around and begin to work on living a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise in spite of the mobility difficulties they have. Together the organizations are sending the message that sports and recreation is available to everyone in the community. The program is free for participation and is focused on taking each participant as far as they can go in the sport.

When the groups converge on Curtis Park, beyond making recreation accessible each participant will gain increased gross motor skills, but build self esteem, mental strength and experience that adrenaline high that comes from an active lifestyle.