Chicago Paralympic Development Program

In December of 2008, Chicago 2016, World Sport Chicago and U.S. Paralympics announced the creation of a Paralympic component to the legacy organization. The Chicago Paralympic Development Program is the first entity of its kind in the country and addresses a new segment of Chicago’s population served by World Sport Chicago.  It partners with existing Paralympic sport providers in the city and suburbs to enhance the opportunities for sport delivery to the public with physical or visual disabilities.

Lack of appropriate equipment, unskilled coaches, and inadequate transportation are typical barriers to participation in Paralympic sport.  The Chicago Paralympic Development Program provides expertise and resources that remove these barriers and allows more people to be involved with Paralympic sport.

The Chicago Paralympic Development Program is a model soon to be replicated in other cities across the country. Elite coaches from U.S. Paralympics in Colorado Springs will travel to Chicago for “Train the Trainer” programs that will teach local coaches to train Paralympic athletes. Many local programs already provide programs to children and adults with physical or visual disabilities; the Chicago Paralympic Development Program will enhance programming with funding for equipment and transportation allocations for practices and competitions.  The initial sport emphasis will be on development of cycling, judo and boccia. The three sports include typically underserved populations in Paralympic sport—females, athletes with severe disabilities and athletes with visual disabilities.  The Chicago Paralympic Development Program is concentrating efforts to provide more opportunities for participation in these sports.  Progress to date includes:  four Chicago public schools now include a judo program for students with disabilities, monthly boccia tournaments are offered throughout Chicagoland and cycling event directors are including Paralympic divisions in their races. It is a start, with more on the horizon.

The agencies partnering with the Chicago Paralympic Development Program include organizations from the city and suburbs and are listed on the Partners tab below.