Move United is a national nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of adaptive sports. Tuesday and Wednesday, they made Park City their home, hosting their annual education conference at the National Ability Center in Quinn’s Junction.
The conference saw nearly 500 athletes, educators and organizers come to town for various educational sessions — some focusing on how to compete in different sports, some how to teach and others.
Everything concluded Wednesday evening with an inspirational speech from two-time Paralympic basketball medalist Ali Ibanez and the subsequent screening of “The Power of Sports for Amputees” by Marci Krown.
People seemed happy Wednesday evening, seemingly thrilled to be at the National Ability Center for the week. The organization’s 26 sprawling acres allowed for Move United to teach several classes at once and host multiple speakers.
The National Ability Center is always a destination spot for the adaptive community, and Move United said they’ll happily consider a return. In addition to the annual conference, the organization also hosts annual summer and winter competitions. Move United serves over 120,000 adaptive people a year.
“The whole concept behind this is bringing together the entire adaptive sports community to learn from each other,” said Move United CEO Glenn Marry. “We came out to Park City because the National Ability Center is one of the premier locations in the country for adaptive sports.”
Marry said one of his favorite parts of the week was hearing some with large age gaps discuss industry trends. He said he couldn’t overstate how valuable it always is to get people in a room with different abilities, experiences and more, all with the common goal of advancing adaptive sports.
Marry knows the knowledge gained at these conferences can change lives. He’s extremely optimistic about the growth of adaptive sport in the U.S.
“We have many presenters that are coming in and telling their narrative of what their experience was like being a person with a disability, finding adaptive sport, and how it changed the outcome in their life,” added Marry. “It’s very much about empowering and changing the dynamic of American culture — to see people with disabilities as full participants in society.”
Everyone was loving the sunshine and warmth Wednesday, which allowed for simultaneous outdoor fencing, biking and other classes. The community seems to feel at home at the National Ability Center and in Utah, where the 2034 Paralympics will be held.
“The state of Utah and the progress that they’re making towards the 2034 games is really important to the Paralympic movement,” said Marry. “We’re excited to see the second Paralympics in that 10-year window for the U.S., and it’s great to have it hosted in Salt Lake City. We’re looking forward to coming back to the area.”
One of the conference’s gleeful attendees was Sterling Chase, who runs an adaptive martial arts nonprofit out of Colorado Springs. He was at the conference to learn best how to apply for a grant for his business and to teach some classes. Chase laughed saying he learned too much this week to share on the spot.
“Spreading the wealth and trying to find other martial artists and helping them to do what we do, that’s really great,” Chase said. “We’re looking forward to maybe presenting next year.”
Chase encouraged people to tune in more to adaptive competitions like the Paralympics. He explained that on top of the physical challenges you see athletes persevere through, they’re going through equally as much mentally to believe they can get it done.
“It’s very heartwarming,” added Chase on adaptive competitions. “2034 is going to be huge. Be ready because the Paras are going to kick tail.”
Ibanez touched upon the importance of giving back during her speech. She mentioned the impact several role models had on her, as she feels she’s now in their shoes.
“It’s really good to have these opportunities to come together and bring all this knowledge together,” said Ibanez on the conference. “Instead of learning it over random periods of time.”
A Murray-native, Ibanez was thrilled to see the amount of people coming to Utah for the event. She’s a huge proponent of the National Ability Center, where she feels adaptive people finally don’t have to adapt to the world around them, with facilities being tailored to them. Ibanez will look to keep pushing adaptive sports forward, while chasing her first gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028.
“The difference now versus when I first started playing — there’s a lot more exposure and visibility with adaptive recreation and adaptive sport,” added Ibanez. “That’s been, really awesome to see and be a part of. … I feel determined in making sure we have equity in the same experiences and opportunities as our stand-up counterparts.”
For further information on Move United, see their website. The National Ability Center will host several events this summer.