Extremity Games Main Event (eX5) is scheduled for June 18-19 at Texas Ski Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas.
The Texas Ski Ranch is a new location for the eX5 games.
“Based on surveys and feedback from athletes, we felt that moving the Games would be for the best and would help increase attendance,” Elizabeth Taylor, executive director of the Athletes with Disabilities Network, told O&P Business News. “By hosting our event at [Texas Ski Ranch], we will be able to have all of the sports at one facility, which will allow athletes to cheer on one another and raise camaraderie between athletes.”
Athlete sign-in and opening ceremony takes place June 18 at the Marriott Courtyard River Village in New Braunfels. Competitions begin June 19. Each competition will be followed by an instructional clinic for that sport.
Organized to raise awareness of the abilities of individuals living with limb loss or limb difference to compete in extreme sports, eX5 allows participants to demonstrate skill, persistence and passion while competing for prizes.
In addition to novice competitions, Athletes with Disabilities Network and the organizers of Extremity Games, are forming partnerships with USA Climbing, USA Wakeboarding and USA Cycling to host elite competitions that take place at each association’s national championship. At the elite level of competition, athletes compete for cash and other prizes.
“Over the last few years, we have been surveying Extremity Games athletes and while some athletes want to compete at the elite level, some do not. In order to best meet the desires of all of our athletes, we are forming partnerships with USA Climbing and USA Wakeboarding … to host Extremity Games Elite Competitions in rock climbing and wakeboarding at their national competitions, respectively. Ideally, we would like to partner with the national association for each sport that Extremity Games offers in order to provide an elite competition,” Taylor said.
Extremity Games welcomes members of the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, where recovering wounded warriors can not only compete in extreme sports, but can also educate themselves on sports that they have never before tried. Extremity Games is an opportunity for recovering wounded service members to regain activity through sports, according to a press release.
“We are very proud of the caliber athletes who compete at Extremity Games. We are doing our best to listen to our athletes and make Extremity Games better year after year,” Taylor said.
