Endeavor Games Coming to Fort Wayne
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA popular event for athletes with physical disabilities is coming to Allen County. The University of Central Oklahoma has expanded its Endeavor Games, traditionally held on the university’s campus in Edmond, Oklahoma, into a series of events, the first of which will be held in Fort Wayne in April.
The 2017 Turnstone Endeavor Games will take place April 21-23. The Endeavor Games was launched in 2000 in Oklahoma and has grown from 91 athletes in its first year to 310 athletes from 38 states and Puerto Rico.
The Fort Wayne event will feature seven sports, including air rifle shooting, boccia, goalball, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, track and field and wheelchair basketball. Additionally, there will be sports clinics for some of the same sports and classifications for swimming and track and field.
"It has been a dream to expand the Endeavor Games model for several years," said Katrina Shaklee, co-founder of the UCO Endeavor Games. "We are beyond excited about the possibilities in front of us and are forever grateful to Turnstone and the community of Fort Wayne, Indiana for their belief in this event. When the Endeavor Games began in 2000, the hope was simply to provide a quality athletic competition to athletes with physical disabilities. After 17 years, this has remained the driving force, and we will continue to broaden our reach so that we may serve as many athletes as possible."
Registration for the Fort Wayne event begins February 1 at the Endeavor Games website. Organizers says they expect the Endeavor Games Series to expand to one or two additional cities per year.