NYC Para Sports Academy: Fund to Nationals

HELP US GET TO NATIONALS!

NYC Para Sports Academy is a new grassroots para sports team. This is our first year and out of the gate 5 of our athletes qualified for Move United Nationals, which will be held July 11 - 15 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. JDJ Foundation has generously provided each racer a custom chair. However the expenses don't stop at the chairs, The Para Sports Academy is hoping your generosity can make the travel a bit easier for the coaches and athletes.

Meet the Athletes:

Karissa | Age 8: On May 3rd Karissa competed in the 60 m race and secured her ticket to Nationals. Memorial day weekend Karissa will be competing in the Tri-State tournament in New Jersey in hopes to solidify her spot for the 100m, 200, 400m, and 800m . She races in her Tiffany Blue Top End Chair

Theo | Age 10: On May 3rd, Theo competed and secured his spot in the 20m and 60m events and will be joining Karissa as a first time competitor at the Nationals level. Theo will be competing at the Tri-State tournament in hopes to lock in a spot in the 100m race. He races in his fire engine red Top End racing chair.

Rishi | Age 12: On May 3rd, Rishi showed determination and qualified for his 2nd trip to Nationals. Rishi qualified in the 60m, 100m, and 200m. At the Tri-State Rishi will attempt to qualify for the 400m and 800m races. Rishi medaled at Nationals last year using an outdated chair in the Birmingham, Alabama sun. In 2025 Rishi updated his chair to a royal blue Top End chair and we're excited to hopefully see some extra hardware around his neck.

Harry | Age 12: Harry has been racing for 5 years now and this is his 4th trip to Nationals, securing a wall full of medals. At a prior race Harry qualified for the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 1500m. That particular race did not host an 800m, but we're confident he will lock in a qualifying time at the Tri-State event. Harry races in his black Carbonbike chair.

Lucy | Age 14: Similar to Harry, Lucy has been racing for 5 years and this will be her 4th trip to Nationals. 100m, 200m, 400m and 1500m are already secured for Lucy and she'll be hoping to lock in a time for the 800m at the Tri-State. In prior years Lucy has shown her hard work paid off and has won several medals. While Lucy's favorite color is pink she surprised us all when she opted for a silver Carbonbike chair.

Meet the Coaches:

Coach Tony is a two-time Paralympian and has raced all of the major marathons. He's a full time art teacher at an elementary school. His true passion is racing and he's found nothing more fulfilling than the past 1.5 years of coaching the next generation of wheelchair racers.

Coach Arielle has competed as a D1 racer at the University of Illinois and has also competed at World Championships. She has completed 30 marathons, including all 6 majors. Not only is Arielle an excellent racer but she's also a para rock climber and scuba diver.

Coach Kelsey is a pediatric occupational therapist turned wheelchair racing coach thanks to her daughter Lucy (see above). When Lucy found herself without a coach, Kelsey decided to take the reigns and went all in.

Mary Rose is a special education teacher in Queens and also found a love for the sport of wheelchair racing. Mary Rose has been coaching for 2 years and last year traveled to Alabama to coach the athletes at Nationals.

Your donation will help cover the flight and hotels for the coaches and athletes. Any left over funds will be applied to future travel for these athletes.

If you have it in you to donate, please include a note about one of the athletes. We are hoping to host a team party at the end of nationals and we'd love to highlight the notes of those who helped us get this far.

Thank you for your generosity

The New York City Para Sports Academy!