Vision to Victory Active Camp

Event description

Vision to Victory!

Join the first Vision to Victory Active Weekend featuring an NBA Experience at a Portland Trailblazers Game!

Blind and Low Vision students who are interested in and enthusiastic about careers in the Sports and/or Gaming industries will have the opportunity to focus on trying new and fun inclusive sports sessions and sports gaming competitions. Amerability staff will be on hand to support participants. 

Participants will try new adaptive sports including NFL Flag Football, 3-on-3 NBA Basketball, indoor soccer, and blind cricket. They will also compete for prizes and trophies in blind tennis and goalball mini tournaments. Amerability staff will provide audio description support to Blind or Low Vision participants as they experience the adapted versions of NBA 2K24 and Madden NFL 24. 

Workshop Highlights 

This weekend is designed to introduce students to job exploration and self-advocacy through training and mentoring for positions within the Gaming and Sports industries through:

• Overviews of both the Sports and Gaming Industries.
• Strong focus on assistive technology with industry-related partners, Northwest Center for Assistive Technology Training (CATT-NW) and OneCourt. 
• Peer connection through conversation and industry engagement activities and strategies.
• Inclusive gaming sessions with staff audio description as well as adapted sport sessions including Goalball and 3-on-3 Basketball with staff assistance for participants who are Blind or Low Vision.
• Collaboration with industry professionals and camp peers in one-on-one and group settings.

Participants will:

• Prepare for post-secondary education and training by participating in activities to build independence and self-belief.
• Work with industry professionals who can increase skill acquisition to help participants become more marketable.
• Build self-confidence through collaboration and presentation opportunities with Paralympians, Amerability staff, mentors, and the public.
• Create resumes and cover letters geared for industry placement, assisted by Amerability staff and mentors.
• Practice mock interviewing and industry networking.

Workshop Partners

Amerability 

Amerability is an experienced DSB provider dedicated to creating unique and transformative opportunities for students across the State of Washington. Amerability staff bring their lived experience to students and these staff have a strong understanding of what it means to be Blind or Low Vision and to encourage participants to achieve their goals through actions and provide mentoring and coaching through the process of starting points to successful transition outcomes. 

Murray Elbourn leads a team of Amerability staff including adaptive professionals from Gaming and Sports as well as many other employment sectors to explore student interests and to nourish growth. For more information, contact Amerability CEO Murray Elbourn or call 509-601-8447. 

Northwest Center for Assistive Technology Training (CATT-NW)

The Northwest Center for Assistive Technology Training (CATT-NW) Program is a collaboration between the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) and the Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB).

Their mission is to provide assistive technology training to teachers of blind/low vision children, utilizing a "train the trainer" model, while also providing support/training for other professionals working with blind or low vision children as well as parents/caregivers of a child who is blind or has low vision, including those with additional disabilities.

OneCourt

In September of 2021, at the start of his junior year at the University of Washington, Jerred Mace came across a video of a blind man at a soccer match. The man in the video sat with a sighted woman who watched the game below and simultaneously moved his hands across a tactile game board to represent the action on the field. This manner of watching the game through touch was meaningful but uncommon. Jerred quickly formed a team to realize the vision, pulling from engineering, design, and entrepreneurial corners of the university. 

Grounded by lived experiences with visual disability and united by a love for sport, the OneCourt Team is committed to driving sustained and widespread impact. Today, almost three years from inception, they’re welcoming a new era for accessible entertainment. 

OneCourt’s mission: To make live sports accessible to all.

COST

FREE! This workshop is free to active participants of DSB who have an active VR case or who are qualified for Pre-ETS Services. Transportation, lodging, food, and all activities costs are covered by DSB. 

RSVP

Register online by Friday, January 17, 2025. Space is limited and participants will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have any questions about this workshop - or others like it - please email Matthew Hines or call 360-409-3003.