June 27, 2005
Albany-- Disabled athletes in South West Georgia could soon be able to participate in a wide range of sports through the Blaze Sports program. Several interested athletes met with Blaze Sports officials earlier this month in an effort to bring the program to Albany.
Blaze Sports Georgia was created in 1997 to bring community based disabled sports programs to cities across the state. It has since evolved into a year round program that offers camps, clinics, junior teams and competitions.
The program is open to both men and women and offers sports such as rugby, basketball, tennis and track and field. Albany resident Derek Wooten is responsible for leading the effort to bring BlazeSports to Albany.
"Just letting them see a sport like rugby, realizing that it's out there and that, 'Hey I'm in a chair and I can actually try something,'" Wooten said.
"We were invited down here because the athletes have come forward and said, 'We want programming', and it's really exciting. This is the first time its been driven by the athletes themselves rather than the organizations," Oglesby said.
Oglesby says the Blaze Sports program could come to Albany within the year.
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