CAMP ABILITIES WORLD, Brockport, NY (2025)

11/16/2025

Camp Abilities couldn't exist without generous donors across the world. A highlight story from Camp Abilities Saratoga this past year features the Burch family. Quinn B. attended Camp Abilities - Brockport, NY as an athlete several years ago and her father, Jim Burch, was an enthusiastic fundraiser and started the bowling program at Brockport. In 2005, Jim passed away from cancer and CAB continues to honor his legacy with The Jim Burch Above and Beyond Award. This highlights a person, organization, or department who goes "above and beyond" for the benefit of Camp Abilities Brockport. Camp Abilities Saratoga's Director, Tiffany Mitrakos, and Assistant Director, Lizzie Weaver, have both received the award for their outstanding dedication to CAB!

The generosity continues as Quinn's mother, Peg Burch, donated a tandem bike to Camp Abilities Saratoga this year to bring other's joy! We appreciate the Burch's dedication to keep athletes with visual impairments involved in their community and excited to ride in the future!

Photos include a photo of a blue tandem bike parked on a driveway, athletes and coaches lined up getting ready to begin riding on the tandem biking course, and athletes and coaches riding their tandem bikes on the course.

10/28/2025

Camp Rewind: Camp Abilities Tucson hosted its 22nd year of camp this past summer! Athletes and coaches swam, hiked, played soccer, goalball, and golf! They tandem biked, strength trained, and horseback rode! Thanks to a grant from the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD), CAT took field trips to Tumamoc Hill, El Rio Golf Course, and The Rockin' Star Ranch. Special thanks to our coaches who came from GateWay Community College OTA program, Rowan University Salva School of Nursing and Health Professions, Camp Abilities Delaware, and Camp Abilities NJ @ Rowan U to help make this year's camp the largest since before COVID. Stay tuned for next years camp from June 7-13, 2026!

Photos include athletes and coaches horseback riding at a ranch, a coach supporting an athlete do trap bar carries in strength training, and an athlete and coach sign together as they walk down a trail. Additional photos include athletes using exercise bands during strength training, athletes and coaches posing at the top of Tumamoc Hill after a long hike, and Coach Casey of the Philadelphia Fire Beep Baseball team teaches an athlete how to swing her bat. Final photos include a coach providing feedback as an athlete hits a golf ball at the driving range and Coach Matt of the New York Bombers team pitches to an athlete.

09/28/2025

Camp Rewind: Camp Abilities Texas hosted 17 athletes in July 2025 and had so much fun! A week filled with learning different sports and perfecting previous skills. They started the week with Metro Blaze Blind Athletes of Texas learning how to play blind soccer, worked with Texas Woman's University Music Therapy program to explore instruments and create talent show acts, and bowled at Twin Pins Bowling Bar! They cooled off with Kona Ice Northwest DFW & Denton, had a pool party to learn how to stand-up paddle board and kayak, and swam their hardest in a their swim meet! They brought back their duathlon where athletes received CATX medals for biking and running and taught their friends and family how to play goalball on their final day! Congratulations on their 10th anniversary of camp and looking forward to seeing them rock in 2026!

Photos include an athlete dribbling a soccer ball trying to score a goal in a game, an athlete and coach lining themselves up with the lane in bowling, and an athlete reading lyrics off a screen holding a mic with a coach watching. Additional photos include a group photo of athletes and coaches standing in front of the Kona Ice truck, a group photo of athletes standing and sitting on the podium after their swim meet, and a sport specialist teaching an athlete how to paddle on a stand-up paddle board on the pool deck. Final photos include an athlete running with their coach during the duathlon and a photo of an athlete with their family wearing goalball pads to learn how to play the game.

09/08/2025

Faces from All the Places features Keith Edgerton from Camp Abilities Olympia (WA)! Even though though Camp Abilities Olympia has retired, we appreciate the hard work Keith and his staff put in to changes dozens of lives over multiple summer camps in 2018, 2019, and 2023. Keith started CAO in October 2016 with a weekend camp and first week-long camp in 2017! After seeing Camp Abilities - Brockport, NY in action, Keith said, "It was a great decision to attend that camp because I left with confidence that I could create my own version of Camp Abilities in the northwest...Being a visually impaired person (VIP) myself, it was awesome to not be the only VIP person in a room or setting, which was normally the case."

CAO's mission was to teach athletes how to play sports safely and advocate for themselves. They hoped when athletes returned to school they could educate physical education teachers or coaches how they could be included with their peers! A previous lacrosse coach himself, Keith loved modifying the activity to help his campers participate during the week along with teaching them how to play goalball, track & field, rock climbing, hiking, and so much more! To read a little more about history, you can visit ThurstonTalk.com who wrote a great article about CAO: https://www.thurstontalk.com/2017/07/08/keith-edgerton-doesnt-need-see-believe/

Keith spends his time in Hawaii soaking up the sun, working remotely, and visiting his family and friends in the mainland. He loves beep baseball and all the water activities when at camp. Keith hopes to start a camp where the sun is always shining and aloha is a greeting, adjective, and way of life! Thanks for all that you do to educate others and best of luck with your next chapter Keith!

Photos include Keith standing with his arms out to the side smiling wearing a blue Camp Abilities Olympia tie dye shirt and Keith helping an athlete find the ball on the tee in beep baseball. Additional photos include Keith walking down a ramp to the water sports with an athlete using Human Guide and Keith standing on a paddle board smiling.

09/02/2025

Camp Rewind: Camp Abilities Portugal - AAMA had a great year back in late June with a variety of sports and activities! Hosted in partnership with AAMA - Associação Actividade Motora Adaptada, athletes participated in goalball, judo, Muay Thai, surfing, picnic dinners, dancing, rugby, and so much more. The athletes and coaches had a great time showing off their skills in the talent show and it was hard to say goodbye at the end of the week. Camp Abilities Portugal says, "It's more than a summer camp, they live a true lesson in humanity, empathy, and inclusion." To see more photos and watch their highight videos, follow them on Facebook! Congratulations on a fantastic year filled with a jam-packed week of adventures and look forward to all the fun you'll have next year!

Photos include an athlete practicing throwing the ball in goalball, athletes lined up to learn judo, and an athlete standing on a surfboard in the water with a coach helping them stay balanced. Additional photos include an athlete smiling with a coach at their outdoor picnic holding a McDonald's cup and french fries, an athlete and coach trying to catch the ball in rugby, and an athlete performing on stage for the talent show with their group camp photo projected on a screen behind them.

08/16/2025

Camp Rewind: Camp Abilities Iowa hosted by the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired had an amazing June with so many athletes! They ran, biked, swam, dived in goalball, batted in beep baseball and so much more! This year the athletes and coaches practiced their bowling skills as it's a new competitive sport within their athletic conference! They hope the skills they taught encourage athletes to join their local team.

They have a Google Classroom page that they share with all the athletes families so they can know the great things we do throughout the week: https://classroom.google.com/c/NTE2OTIyNDM3NjEy. For more information, please contact Director Brandon at brandon.schellhorn@iaedb.org. Congratulations Camp Abilities Iowa on another successful year!

Photos include a coach helping an athlete bowl in a gymnasium, a coach and athlete riding a side-by-side bike, and an athlete throwing the ball forward in goalball. Additional photos include an athlete running while holding onto a guide wire and a coach spotting an athlete by the hips to do a forward roll. Final photos are a group of people smiling for a selfie and a photo of the words "Talent Show" lit up on a TV screen with athletes standing in front of a crowd.

08/06/2025

Camp Abilities Saratoga in NY is in full swing and you can catch daily updates on their page! They were a part of the Camp Abilities The Gibney Family Foundation Blind Tennis Grant where 6 different camps across the United States were given equipment to teach their athletes basic skills and drills! With new tennis rackets, auditory balls, nets, and more, the athletes are striving for excellence in blind tennis and everything else they're doing this week! To learn more about the blind tennis program, take a look at the news feature Skidmore College created below.
Good luck luck with the rest of the CAS and can't wait to see the amazing photos for the days to come!

Photos include two coaches and athletes practicing rallying the ball back to each other, Coach Jess Parfitt assisting an athlete strike the tennis ball with the racket, and two athletes running on the track. Additional photos include athletes and coaches posing for a photo at Brown's Beach in the water and an athlete practicing their judo skills by pinning a coach to the mat.

https://www.skidmore.edu/news/2025/0725-camp-abilities-at-skidmore-adds-adapted-tennis-programming.php #:~:text=Camp%20Abilities%20at%20Skidmore%20College%20adds%20adapted%20tennis%20to%20summer%20programming,-July%2025%2C%202025&text=The%20new%20programming%2C%20which%20includes,and%20Wellness%20Center's%20indoor%20courts.

07/31/2025

Camp Abilities Rewind: Camp Abilities New Jersey at Rowan University held their second annual overnight camp at the beginning of July! Their athletes participated in canoeing, rock climbing, skateboarding, orienteering, and archery. They also took a trip to the campus aquaponics lab to learn about how vegetables are grown, plant some seeds, and taste fresh vegetables from the garden! Congratulations on a successful CANJRU team!

Photos include two athletes holding up giant pieces of lettuce grown in the aquaponics lab, an athlete preparing to skateboard down a ramp, and a coach providing verbal directions for an athlete to get on the rock wall. Additional photos include a coach watching an athlete ride a skateboard and a coach helping an athlete align for an archery shot.

07/24/2025

Faces from All the Places features Dr. Katie Ericson who double threat as a certified teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI) and certified orientation and mobility specialist (COMS)! A soon to be assistant professor of Special Education at Texas Tech University this Fall, we are thrilled to have her on the Camp Abilities World Board of Directors! She serves on the fundraising committee to help raise money to support new and established camps.

Katie originally attended Camp Abilities - Brockport, NY as a graduate student in 2016! She helped with the research on the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) throughout the week and completed observations and interviews with athletes. She says, "I learned so much from that week that I hadn't just in the classroom." Katie also attended Camp Abilities Washington, now known as Camp Spark with Northwest Association for Blind Athletes! She says, "My favorite things about camp are seeing teh athletes connect with each other and form such long friendships...and eventually take on leadership roles. I also love seing coaches (often students themselves!) getting to put what they've learned in the classroom and use in the field and lern from the athletes." Thank you for you 9+ years of support to Camp Abilities and appreciate all you do for camps across the world!

Photos include Katie presenting research at the Council for Exceptional Children conference in Portland, her and her husband with Japanese athletes learning how to coach and play visually impaired (VI) rugby, and a group photo of the VI rugby team teaching her students how to play VI rugby.

07/18/2025

Camp Rewind: Camp Abilities California at the California School for the Blind had three successful weeks of activities and fun back in June! They had GoGo Skateboarding join them at the beginning of each week for skateboarding lessons and Brandon Young, who was a former USA Goalball Paralympian, who taught full days of goalball. James Ha, from Fremont Schwinn Cyclery, helped athletes learn the parts of a bike and how to tune them and Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) taught them how to kayak on the Berkeley Aquatic Park through the The City of Berkeley Parks & Recreation. Congrats to all the athletes for trying new things and thank you to the volunteers and coaches who made it happen!

Photos include a coach teaching an athlete how to grind a skateboard on a rail by feeling the board's angle, an athlete standing on a board with support from a coach holding their hands, and a coach and athlete preparing to throw a goalball. Additional photos include Brandon Young adjusting an athlete's hands to block a ball in goalball, James Ha helping an athlete feel the spokes of a tire, and James Ha talking to a group of athletes and coaches. Final photos include a coach helping athletes launch a kayak and a group of athletes and coaches kayaking on the water.

07/03/2025

Camps are happening left and right all across the world and we are so excited to be changing the world step-by-step, one day at a time!

Check out Camp Abilities PA at WCU for their 20th year at camp! They focused on para triathlon and end camp with a tri with age-appropriate distances! Their camp kicks off the summer season during the Memorial Day weekend in May and is filled with laughs, setting and shattering personal goals, and learning how to be the best athlete they can be. To learn more about which camps are happening this summer, visit www.campabilitiesworld.com/camps

Photos include the whole camp posed together, a photo of athletes swimming in the pool with a floatation device, and an athlete biking with their coach. Additional photos include an athlete and coach running in the forest and a photo of the founders and leadership team smiling with Maria L-S, Monica Lepore, and Beth Foster.

06/03/2025

Faces from All the Places features Sara Davis from Camp Abilities Delaware! Since 2017, Sara has held almost every role at camp. Starting as an athlete when Camp Abilities Delaware was a day camp to working with a job coach as a Coach In Training. She is now graduating high school and continues to work with a job coach to learn the roles a coach at Camp Abilities needs to fulfil! Sara enjoys hanging out with all of the other coaches and playing basketball at camp. Her favorite job at camp is organizing and handing out snacks. Thank you for 7+ years of hard work at CADE and looking forward to seeing you shine in your next endeavor!

Photos include Sara posing with Coach Liz (and Spiderman) during her last year as an athlete and a photo of Sara posing with Coach Maria dressed as a snowperson as part of evening activity at winter camp. Additional photos are Sara working with her job coach to make gatorade for everyone at camp, Sara posing with Coach Shawn and some other camp participants on a boat during her first year at camp, and Sara leading a basketball activity at camp.

CAMP ABILITIES WORLD

11/16/2025

10/28/2025

09/28/2025

09/08/2025

09/02/2025

08/16/2025

08/06/2025

07/31/2025

07/24/2025

07/18/2025

07/03/2025

06/03/2025

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