DICK’s Supports USABA Athletes’ Paralympic Dream

Training to become an elite athlete requires sacrifice on many levels – physical, emotional, mental, financial. Athletes quickly learn that balancing a work schedule and a rigorous training schedule can be extremely difficult. Add in the desire to support a family and the need for a guide with whom the athlete can train, travel expenses, training equipment – and the obstacle of moving from athlete to ‘elite’ athlete status can seem monstrous. DICK's Sporting Goods, official sporting goods retail sponsor of Team USA, is helping lighten the load of 4 blind elite athletes and 2 guides by offering flexible work…  Read More

Four National Titles for USABA Track Tandem Teams

Six USABA tandem teams met in Colorado Springs to compete for national titles this weekend at the 2015 U.S. Paracycling Track National Championships. The event was held at the U.S. Olympic Velodrome, which was recently covered with a seasonal dome to support year-round training – and just in time for the snow that fell Saturday afternoon. All of the stokers competing in this year’s national championships got their start in cycling by participating in a USABA Cycling Development Camp with the most recent stoker attending a camp in September, just 3 months before Nationals, at the Olympic Training Center in…  Read More

Hurdling Obstacles at the USABA Marathon National Championships

On Sunday, two USABA athletes crossed the finish line to become 2015 USABA Marathon National Champions – but not without hurdling substantial obstacles along the course. When guides for both Amelia Dickerson and Matt Oliver experienced setbacks, these champion athletes had to adapt, trusting the guidance of strangers and new friends to lead them to the finish line. For most marathoners, it’s all about pace. Going into a race, athletes have a goal in mind – a pace they intend to hit, a time they have trained to beat, a new PR. The 2015 USABA Marathon National Championships event was…  Read More

Guiding Eyes for the Blind and USABA Forge Partnership

From Guiding Eyes for the Blind The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) provides life-enriching sports opportunities for every individual with visual impairment. Guiding Eyes and the USABA have forged a partnership based on their shared goal of removing boundaries for people with vision loss and challenging accepted notions of independence. This collaboration is timely; Thomas Panek, Guiding Eyes for the Blind President & CEO, is running the California International Marathon in Sacramento this weekend along with Richard Hunter, the first graduate of the school’s Running Guides Pilot Program. Richard received Klinger, a two-year-old German Shepherd, in July of this…  Read More

Blind and Visually Impaired Runners Hit the Pavement at 2015 California International Marathon

Non-24.com Sponsors 7th Annual USABA Marathon National Championships The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), in partnership with Non-24.com, will host the 7th Annual USABA Marathon National Championships in conjunction with the California International Marathon (CIM) on Sunday, December 6, 2015. Since it was established in 2007 with a small team of two, the USABA Marathon National Championships have become one of the premiere distance running events for athletes who are blind and visually impaired. Forty-nine blind and visually impaired runners and 60 volunteer sighted guides will participate in the National Championships with eight relay teams and 25 blind…  Read More