Introduction Transcript
Lisa Belcastro: Hey there my name is Lisa Belcastro and I’m so excited to share with you some inexpensive ways to make sports more accessible to athletes with disabilities. For over a decade I've been working in the adapted sport community as an adapted physical education teacher, volunteer, and advocate. Like many who run adapted sports programs funding is often limited. Even on a shoestring budget we must find creative ways to accommodate the needs of every athlete in our program. No one deserves to be left on the sidelines and we're here to make sure that never happens. 

[Screen reader]: text DIY adapted sports equipment with Lisa Belcastro graphics depict the US flag and the logos of the Department of State, United States of America Sports Diplomacy, and University of Tennessee Knoxville Center for Sport Peace and Society a project by the U.S Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program

Lisa Belcastro: When I first learned that funding for my program was going to be a struggle I knew I had two choices: either athletes sitting on the sidelines or get creative.

[Screen reader]: She works with a tape measure and a hacksaw.

Lisa Belcastro: I chose to take the creative route by exploring ways to build
equipment by hand. Doing so created opportunities for my athletes to participate regardless of their disability 
[Screen reader]: Man in a wheelchair and Lisa holds a bow and arrow.

Lisa Belcastro: In this series of videos we will look at ways to make soccer, archery, bowling ,Bocce, resistance training, and even hockey more accessible by building our own equipment. However the ultimate goal is to leave these videos inspired to create your own equipment that is customized to the individual strengths of your athletes. 
When brainstorming an idea for a piece of equipment the first thing to do is identify which athlete the equipment is for. Next make a list of all the athletes strengths. Focusing on the athletes strengths are the things that they can do as opposed to things that they cannot, kick starts the creative process by giving you a path forward. Finally when planning a piece of equipment, increasing the independence of the athlete should be at the heart of the design. If done right the adapted equipment should increase the autonomy of the athlete. In these videos we will be using PVC pipe to create our pieces of equipment 
[Screen reader]: she carries PVC pipes in a hardware store.
 
Lisa Belcastro: PVC pipe is inexpensive, easy to work with, and it's very durable. When working with PVC in this capacity you need to remember three steps: cut, connect, and cement. Using a saw, we will be cutting the PVC into the desired lengths. Next, we will connect the pieces together using PVC fittings. Finally, we will cement the joints into place.
So if you're ready to get started grab your saw your measuring tape and let's get to work

[Screen reader]: DIY adapted sports equipment
[Music].