Whistles and cheers of encouragement could be heard down the hall from the Mitchell Hall gyms as first-year Kinesiology students participated in the annual paralympic sports tournament.
Kinesiology Orientation is organized by the Physical Health Education and Kinesiology Association, and on Sept. 12 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., light blue orientation shirts filled Mitchell Hall. Gyms three and four were full as first-year Kinesiology students took part in the orientation’s Paralympic sports tournament.
At the event, an orientation executive advised The Journal not to speak with first-years, orientation leaders, or students about their perspective on the event.
The first-years were split into three groups and rotated through four sports: blind-guided dodgeball, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and boccia ball.
While sitting volleyball, boccia ball, and wheelchair basketball are all official Paralympic sports, blind-guided dodgeball is not.
Dressed in deep blue shirts and red shorts, with whistles around their necks, the Coaches —Kinesiology Orientation leaders — guided and encouraged the first-years through the activities.
Kinesiology Orientation’s Instagram page warned students to expect an “amplified noise” event.
The blind-guided dodgeball court was filled with the shouts of players communicating with their partners.
Students teamed up, with one partner wearing a blindfold and attempted to hit a player on the opposing team. The other partner held their arm, guiding them around the court and telling them where and when to throw the ball.
For wheelchair basketball, students practiced shooting from a seated position and learned the basics of the sport.
After the event, Gabi Poitevien, Kin ’30, spoke with The Journal about her experience. She described the event as a fun opportunity to “mix and mingle” with other first-year Kinesiology students.
Poitevien said that throughout Kinesiology orientation, students had primarily been playing “traditional” sports, making the tournament an opportunity to experience “both sides of sports.”
Rather than competing for a winner, students and Coaches played the four sports for fun, with the focus placed on inclusivity and trying something new.
Tags
kinesiology, orientation, Orientation Week, PHEKSA
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