World Games updates, wheelchair rugby, a deadline for Birmingham Promise
The World Games 2022 Birmingham — scheduled for July 7-17 — is billed by organizers as “a new generation of global sport competition.”
More than 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries will compete for gold medals in 34 unique, multidisciplinary sports at about 25 venues in the Birmingham area.
However, sports competitions will not be the only events to be presented during the Games.
In May, organizers announced the entertainers who will perform at the star-studded opening and closing ceremonies.
Also this month in City Beat, we learn about one of the intense sports coming to the Games and the deadline for Birmingham Promise applications.
WORLD GAMES HOOPLA
The World Games 2022 Closing Ceremonies is set for July 17 at Protective Stadium downtown. And the show will feature a bevy of musical talent with Alabama ties.
Tuskegee native Lionel Richie will be the headliner for the much-ballyhooed event. This performance marks Richie’s first in his home state in more than two decades.
“I'm honored to be joining all the talented artists performing at The World Games Closing Ceremony, and to be headlining the closing ceremonies is truly special. I am so excited to be coming home to perform in Alabama,” Richie said in a TWG2022 news release.
Other artists performing at the event will include the legendary country group Alabama; the Blind Boys of Alabama and Jamey Johnson, who will sing together; Alabama’s American Idols Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and Bo Bice; legendary R&B and soul artist Martha Reeves; rap artist Yung Bleu; and Stellar Award-winning gospel singer Pastor Mike (McClure) Jr.
Presented by Coca Cola, the Closing Ceremonies will have the theme “One World-One People: Celebrating Legacy, Achievement & Unity.”
The Opening Ceremonies, set for July 7 at Protective Stadium, will be a celebration of sport and Birmingham history.
It is titled “Unlocking the Magic: Celebrating the Power of the One” and will celebrate Birmingham’s past, present and future.
Spoken word artist Sharrif Simmons will deliver a poem in the Opening Ceremonies, and there will be performances by Alabama, Nelly, Sara Evans, Sheila E., Tony! Toni! Tone! and Yolanda Adams.
Funk legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bootsy Collins will serve as master of ceremonies for the opening and closing ceremonies and guide audiences through a musical and theatrical presentation celebrating the rich musical and cultural history of Birmingham.
MURDERBALL
Wheelchair rugby is considered among the most intense sports, evidenced by the players’ use of custom wheelchairs designed to withstand constant collisions.
The sport’s physical nature was on full display in “Murderball,” the 2005 documentary that focused on the rivalry between the U.S. and Canadian wheelchair rugby teams.
Most wheelchair rugby players pick up the sport after suffering a spinal cord injury, which leaves them with no or limited mobility or dexterity in at least three of their four limbs.
The sport will be on display at The World Games in Birmingham this summer, according to a news release from local organizers.
The mixed-gender wheelchair rugby competition will run from July 14-17 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The six teams qualified for The World Games’ wheelchair rugby competition are the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland.
The competition in Birmingham will mark the first time wheelchair rugby has been part of The World Games, according to the release.
It also marks the first time an adaptive sport is part of the regular sports program at an international, multi-sport athletic event that also includes non-adaptive sports.
“Wheelchair rugby offers an exciting, fast-paced game that showcases these unique athletes’ skill, grit and daring,” said The World Games 2022 CEO Nick Sellers, “and that’s why we think it will be a hot ticket. The ability to see these athletes up-close with a gold medal on the line truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that any sports fan will cherish and enjoy.”
“It’s a pretty rough sport,” said Mike DeYoung, a longtime member of the U.S. national team who could be selected to play in Birmingham. “It’s going to be pretty intense for anyone who wants to check it out.”
Great Britain defeated Team USA in the gold medal round at the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo in August 2021. Japan won bronze after winning the IWRF World Championship in 2018.
The United States Wheelchair Rugby Association recently announced training squad, and the eight-person team that will compete in Birmingham will selected after a training camp next month at Lakeshore Rehabilitation in Birmingham.
For more information about wheelchair rugby at TWG 2022, including the schedule of competitions, go to twg2022.com/sports/wheelchair-rugby.
BIRMINGHAM PROMISE DEADLINE
Seniors in Birmingham City Schools must complete their Birmingham Promise scholarship applications by June 1 to ensure they have an opportunity to attend college tuition-free, according to a news release from the nonprofit.
Birmingham Promise provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of Birmingham City Schools. The scholarships can be used at any public two-year or four-year college or university in Alabama. The program also provides students with coaches to help them succeed in college.
“Even if seniors aren’t sure of their post-graduation plans, we urge them to complete this application,” said Samantha Williams, executive director of Birmingham Promise.
Students must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, or FAFSA.
Since 2020, Birmingham Promise has provided tuition assistance or coaching to 800 graduates.
“Our promise is that if students do their part by finishing high school, money will not be the obstacle that keeps them from going to college,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin.
For details, go to birminghampromise.org.