Read more about how the event went in the .
Sevval Kurtaran had designed flyers before, but she鈥檇 never done so with people with visual impairments in mind.
So when the 91制片厂 student was asked to turn her flyer promoting into something accessible, she reached out to the college鈥檚 Access and Disability Services office, which showed her how to use an accessibility tracker.
The trick, she learned, was to make the flyer scannable by a reader, so she removed a decorative background, used only black and white, and added accessibility-friendly alt text so the scanner could describe what the image showed.
鈥淣ow that I know how the accessibility tool works, I think I鈥檓 going to use that tool more in the future,鈥� she said.
That鈥檚 the sort of goal 91制片厂 hopes to achieve through Adaptive Sports Day, which will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 3, at the Foglia Foundation Health and Recreation Center.
It not only celebrates the abilities of students with disabilities but teaches those who are non-disabled about those abilities. With more awareness, the college can become a more inclusive, welcoming environment, said Beth Ripperger, 91制片厂 Wellness manager and Kurtaran鈥檚 supervisor.
鈥淥ftentimes, people don鈥檛 even know what adaptive sports are,鈥� Ripperger said. 鈥淲e started to talk about, 鈥榃hat do we want day to look like?鈥� and 鈥榃hat do we want people to learn?鈥欌��
Adaptive sports are those that allow anyone to play, including those with disabilities. The sport might be entirely new, or perhaps small adjustments have been made to a popular sport that allow people with disabilities to participate.
Consider the game beat ball, Ripperger said, which is played with blindfolds. Whether someone is blind or has no visual impairment, the blindfolds level the playing field.
鈥淭here are ways we can change our environment to make sports more inclusive for everyone,鈥� she said.
In addition to adaptive sports demos 鈥� including a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wheelchair basketball game and a Chicago Lions wheelchair rugby demo 鈥� the day will include:
While this is 91制片厂鈥檚 first Adaptive Sports Day in recent memory, Ripperger is hopeful that it will not be the last.
鈥淭hat鈥檇 be great if this became a tradition, something people could interact with on yearly basis,鈥� she said. 鈥淗opefully, we鈥檒l even think about our intramural opportunities for students, faculty and staff in the future surrounding adaptive sports.鈥�
is Tuesday, December 3, from noon to 4 p.m. at , Building M.