This winter we plan to better the virtual training experience for our handcycle athletes so that they can continue to make progress and create community, while staying safe at home in NYC.

Executing this will involve purchasing bike trainers, speed/cadence sensors, and a transfer seat for athletes using lower to ground handcycles. We will also need to utilize services like Strava or Zwift to enable them to participate in group rides.

These athletes are part of a handcycle team called Prevailers Racing. This team is under the umbrella of Prevailers Sports, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization helping people with disabilities learn about, train for, and participate in adaptive sports.

We also have our Pedal To The Medal program, which ensures money doesn’t interfere with anyone’s ability to participate in adaptive sports by helping athletes acquire adaptive sports equipment, and cover participation and training expenses. Our ultimate goal is to help adaptive athletes prevail.

What our grantee is saying: "We at Prevailers Sports are very excited to receive this grant from the Awesome Foundation’s Disability Chapter. We’re happy our handcycle athletes will be able to train together virtually, and that more people will learn about Prevailers Sports and our mission to help people with disabilities learn about, train for, and participate in adaptive sports. Thank you Awesome Disability for helping adaptive athletes prevail.

We hope being awarded this grant won’t just highlight organizations like ours that help bridge the gap between people with disabilities and accessing adaptive sports, but will also prompt people to ask why such a gap exists at all."