Unfair Advantages

    There is much debate in sports over creating equality of the playing field. Drug testing for steroids, gender testing, age groups all help even out competition in sports. Not much thought however, is given to disabled athletes.  The few leagues that do exist are not given much credit. People that are born with physical disabilities, blind or death, or with mental disabilities have almost no hope of becoming athletic superstars.
    At schools for the blind and deaf they have sporting events for their students to participate in.  These sports are not given much attention by the public.  Rarely do they lead to college university scholarships. I feel many of these students have a lot of potential.  But since they are handicapped, they need more help.  I feel if more attention is given to these athletes many could go somewhere. Just because they are disadvantaged does not mean they are incapable of being champions. Working in the sports field, I would want to work to provide these handicapped children more opportunities. It would bring me great pride to give a child, with lost hope of becoming professional athletes, that hope again.
   Some organizations such as, the Special Olympics, work towards incorporating people with special needs into athletic events.  They want to make dreams for these children possible.  They create acceptance, grow courage, teach teamwork, and build pride in the young athlete.  Not only do they build each child's self-esteem do they construct stronger communities. They involve a diverse group of people and individuals to volunteer and organize the events. Bringing together a multitude of people for a good cause creates lasting friendships and trust.  I think this a great idea and could be modeled for other disciplines of the sporting world. The Special Olympics focus on the true values in sports.  I hope this aspect will widen to more areas of sports because there are many other disabled and disadvantaged athletes who never get the same opportunity to experience these values and all sports have to offer. I want a broader range of athletes capable of participating in the sporting world.