Remarkable 2012 Leads to Anniversary 2013 for World T.E.A.M. Sports

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec. 31, 2012 - The national disabled sports organization World T.E.A.M. Sports saw its most successful year in a decade in 2012, with more than 600 registered participants at four outdoor sporting events nationally.

Not since 2002, when World T.E.A.M. Sports hosted its second Face of America bicycle ride as a commemorative 9/11 event, has the non-profit seen as many disabled and able-bodied athletes at its sporting events. In 2012, the organization’s Face of America ride from the Pentagon to the battlefields of Gettysburg honoring disabled veterans attracted 500 participants, while the Adventure TEAM Challenge in western Colorado’s McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area saw 70 participants in 14 teams. Other significant events in 2012, the Sea to Shining Sea cross-country bicycle ride with disabled veterans, the Soldiers to the Summit winter sports camp in the Wasatch Mountains at Snowbird, Utah, and the Adventure TEAM Challenge at Frost Valley, New York for disabled children, brought another 50 participants to the unique inclusive events organized and sponsored by World T.E.A.M. Sports.

CEO and President Paul Tyler, who joined the organization in March, following the retirement of outgoing CEO and President Paul Bremer, encouraged greater public outreach for the non-profit organization, in addition to maintaining the financial integrity begun by Bremer. As a result, the two-month Sea to Shining Sea cross-country bicycle ride with 14 disabled veterans received more local and regional publicity in 2012 than the organization’s first Sea to Shining Sea cross-country ride in 2010. In addition, World T.E.A.M. Sports partnered with other non-profit organizations, such as George W. Bush Presidential Center’s Military Service Initiative, to encourage and enable disabled veterans and civilian athletes to participate in sporting events.

World T.E.A.M. Sports was also prominently featured in two feature documentaries released in 2012. “High Ground,” from Stone Circle Pictures and Serac Adventure Films, and “Two Shining Seas,” from Aero Film, offer viewers the opportunity to experience the joy and inspiration of World T.E.A.M. Sports events. Following the team of disabled veterans to the 20,075-foot summit of Lobuche East in Nepal in October, 20120, “High Ground” was well-received at festivals throughout the country in 2012 and enjoyed a limited theatrical release. “Two Shining Seas” told the story of the 2010 Sea to Shining Sea cross-country bicycle ride with 18 disabled veterans; it premiered in October and is expected to be presented at film festivals nationally in 2013.

Through generous sponsorships from corporations such as State Farm, Capital One, Alteryx, American Portfolios, Booz Allen Hamilton, MWV, Dominion, BNY Mellon, General Electric, American Airlines, Energizer Holdings, Famous Footwear, the USO, Semper Fi Fund, Penske, Veterans Corps of America, Revolution Cycles and many more, World T.E.A.M. Sports has been able to create inclusive sporting events that provide inspiration and hope for participants and followers, as well as challenges for participants. The non-profit also enjoyed support from individual sponsors of participants, particularly for the annual Face of America ride.

Incorporated in 1993, the non-profit will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2013. Registration is currently underway for the organization’s Face of America ride in late April, and registration will open in January for the Adventure TEAM Challenge in Colorado in May. Other 2013 events will be announced in the coming months.

For further information regarding 2013 events, visit http://worldteamsports.org/.