Sports Assoc. on Facebook
The Sports Association of Gaylord Hospital supports disabled sports teams and clubs throughout Connecticut. The association encourages people with physical disabilities to participate in sports and to experience new sporting activities.
The Sports Association staff organizes and manages disabled sports teams, tournaments and Discovery Nights for many sports. Persons with physical disabilities are welcome to participate and join the teams. Veterans and civilians with physical disabilites are welcome to experience the activites and join our teams.
The Sports Association is a proud member of Disabled Sports USA.
Video: Adaptive sports for people with physical disabilities
Teams
Connecticut Jammers Quad Rugby Team
The state’s only quad rugby team, the Jammers compete in tournaments throughout the Northeast. The team provides new competitive opportunities for athletes with quadriplegia to compete against other athletes in the region. The Connecticut Jammers is a member of the United States Quad Rugby Association.
Connecticut Hornets Wheelchair Tennis Team
The tennis team began in 1999 and practices and competes on the hospital’s courts and travels throughout New England for competitions.
Clubs
Alpine Ski Club
The club features trips to the Northeast's Premier Adaptive Ski Programs in Vermont and New Hampshire to learn and enjoy the best adaptive skiing techniques.
Adaptive Cycling Club
The club hosts a number of rides throughout the state in the spring, summer and fall and welcomes riders of all abilities.
Water Ski Club
The club meets and skis at Pachaug Pond. Members learn and improve their skills at sitting or standing water skiing.
Other Activities
Teaching Clinics provide participants with a safe, supervised, supportive setting in which to learn or re-learn sports skills. Clinics include:
- Tennis
- Archery
- Golf
- Kayaking
- Adaptive Cycling
- Wheelchair Curling
- Water Skiing
Discovery Nights introduce people with disabilities to a new sport through an educational demonstration from an expert in the field. Resources are also provided so people may independently pursue the sport. Topics include:
- Quad Rugby
- Wheelchair Tennis
- Kayaking
- Skiing
- Sled Hockey
- Scuba Diving
- Sailing
- Hand Cycling
The Gaylord Road Race is a five-mile road race for people of all ages and abilities that features a wheelchair championship race that begins and ends on the hospital’s main campus in Wallingford. Trophies are awarded to the top three male and female winners in each category. Prizes go to the top overall finishers for men, women and wheelchair.
ParaTriathlon Training Program
In collaboration with the Greater Hartford YMCA the program prepares, trains and supports selected athletes with disabilities to compete in a community-based sprint triathlon in Madison, CT. This is the first ParaTriathlon Division in any community triathlon in Connecticut. If interested, Sports Association members can apply to be a part of the training program and be a sponsored athlete.
Veteran Events
The Sports Association supports veterans with disabilities and Wounded Warriors throughout the Northeast to engage in adaptive sports. Veterans are encouraged to join us for all events as well as programming exclusive to veterans.
As the founder of the first Connecticut Wounded Warrior Project event we devote a portion of our programming exclusively for veterans including fishing tornaments, kayaking clinics, challenge course initiatives and other opportunities.
Gaylord Hospital Open (GHO)
Each year, golfers with disabilities are invited to join in a 9-hole golf tournament at The Farms Country Club in Wallingford.
Contact Information
See the Sports Association Facebook page for information and upcoming events.
Learn more about the Sports Association through the Coordinator or call (203) 284-2772. Feel free to request the latest issue of the association’s newsletter, Bearings. Remember to include your name and mailing address.
To get involved, volunteer or make a donation to the Sports Association, or if you would like to receive a copy of our newsletter, contact:
Katie Joly
Coordinator, Sports Association
Gaylord Hospital
P.O. Box 400
Wallingford, CT 06492
Email: kjoly@gaylord.org
Call: (203) 284-2772