We have been following this story for months. A high school athlete, Elle, who happens to be paralyzed, and her family, shook things up in Florida. She wanted to compete on the track and field team. Some of the other schools did not to how to handle the situation.
Good news according to the Miami Herald:
The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted Monday to add an adapted division for students with permanent physical disabilities to the state track and field championship series.
Each of the four current classifications will be divided into the boys’ division, boys’ adapted division, girls’ division and girls’ adapted division to allow disabled athletes to participate in the wheelchair 200-meter dash, wheelchair 800-meter run and wheelchair shot put. The new divisions will begin with the 2009-10 season.
“The Board took action today to initiate a track and field competition for disabled students, affording them the opportunity to compete on an interscholastic level and recognizing that adaptive students are part of the entire interscholastic program,” FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing said in a press release.
Congratulations to Elle and her family!
