Colorado Springs couple trying to invent next Paralympic sport
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A new yard game invented by Colorado Springs residents is starting to catch on in the local community. The inventors hope it will one day become a Paralympic sport for its adaptable capabilities for those with physical impairments.
"Our goal is to make play accessible for everyone," said Co-Inventor Mike Kinner.
Mike and his wife, Stephanie, began concepts for the game right around the time of the birth of their five-year-old son, Samuel. Samuel suffers from a rare brain condition along with epilepsy, causing debilitating limitations to his movement and senses.
He can't play Air O Sport, but Mike said his spirit drives them forward.
"When we move with him, and play therapy with him, and flex his body, he lights up, and that's the power of play," Mike said. "The doctor said we'd be lucky to have a day with him, and now he's five years old, and his grit, his resiliency, and his joy inspires us to continue to fight for this mission."
Kinner said adaptive P.E. teachers across the country use Air O Sport, and he brought the game to the Colorado Springs School for the Deaf and Blind. Most recently in standard play, Kinner teamed up with the local military installments to host an Air O Sport Armed Forces Championship, where Mt. Carmel came out victorious.
Kinner said they don't yet have annual leagues set up for standard or adaptive play, but he said that's the next step in their goal to make Air O Sport a Paralympic sport.
The mechanics of the game combine ideas from multiple different sports, but it utilizes attributes from basketball, disk golf, and ultimate frisbee most prominently. Players run with a bean-bag-lined frisbee and try to hit off targets dangling from a pole, with the opposing team defending, much like a basketball defender. The full rules are on Air O Sports' website.
