2002 Paralympics expert Eli Wolff from NU's Sport in Society can comment on athletes with disabilities
(2-14-02) BOSTON, Mass. � When the world�s finest athletes descend on an Olympic city, they descend not once but twice. Shortly after the Olympic torch is extinguished, a new flame is lit as the next set of elite athletes arrive for the Paralympic Games. The 2002 Winter Paralympic Games take place March 7 -� 16 in Salt Lake City, and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society is available to help the public understand the dynamics of Paralympic sport.
�The Winter Paralympic Games are a tremendous opportunity for everyone to learn more about and to understand the athletic capabilities and achievements of athletes with disabilities,� said Eli Wolff, Sport in Society�s official spokesperson and educator on the Winter Paralympic Games. "Athletes competing in these games deserve as much attention as Olympic athletes - in addition to overcoming living and working with their disabilities, they train to compete as top notch athletes - they should be household names." Wolff will be on site for the Games and is available to answer questions about athletes, clarify issues, offer insight, and provide information about the Paralympic Games.
Wolff, the coordinator of the Disability Sport Research Initiative within the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, engages in research, education, and advocacy for international disability sport, and consults with national and international sport and disability related organizations.
Wolff organized a brief for the Supreme Court, on behalf of the national disabled sports organizations, in support of Casey Martin for his case against the PGA, and received the first annual Casey Martin Award given by Nike, which recognized an individual who made a difference for people with disabilities in sports. He was selected to receive the award based his advocacy and development of innovative new programming for inclusion of athletes with disabilities in sports. He is also a member of the United States Paralympic Soccer Team, and has competed in the 1995 and 1999 Pan American Games for the Disabled, the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, and the 2001 World Cup for the Disabled.
The mission of Northeastern University�s Center for the Study of Sport in Society is to increase awareness of sport and its relation to society, and to develop programs that identify problems, offer solutions, and promote the benefits of sport.
About the Center for the Study of Sport in Society
The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University is one of the world�s leading social justice organizations that use sport to create social change both nationally and internationally. The flagship organization located in the heart of Boston, Mass. was founded in 1984 by Dr. Richard Lapchick and touts branches in Baltimore, Md. and Phoenix, Ariz. Through research, education, and advocacy the center promotes physical activity, health, violence prevention, and diversity among young people and college and professional athletes. Sport in Society�s innovative programs are all staffed by former college or professional athletes and have been awarded America�s most successful violence prevention program by Lou Harris, the Peter F. Ducker Award as the most innovative non-profit program in the social sector, and have been cited as the National Crime Prevention Council�s 50 Best Strategies to Prevent Violent Domestic Crimes. For more information please visit http://www.sportinsociety.org.
