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Purdue University Athletics

Wheel Rise Event

Inaugural Wheel Rise Event Set for Saturday

9/12/2019 9:44:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Wheel Rise Event Page / Challenged Athletes Foundation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Weeks of planning, tireless dedication and inspired collaboration between Purdue Athletics and the College of Engineering will come to fruition this Saturday for the Wheel Rise Event in Holloway Gymnasium. This inaugural event, organized to promote and raise awareness for Paralympic sports, will take place from 2-5 p.m. prior to the football game against TCU at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is free.

The joint brainchild of Purdue women's basketball junior Léony Boudreau and Shelby Gruss, a PhD candidate in agronomy and the former captain of the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball Team, is designed to inspire people to provide Paralympic athletes with the services they need to achieve their full potential.

Paralympians will be in attendance from the University of Illinois wheelchair basketball team, including several gold medalists from the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Fans will be treated to a competitive game on the court starting at 2:45 p.m. During halftime and after the game several Purdue professors will deliver speeches on their research and advocacy for Paralympic sports.

Purdue student-athletes will be in attendance for question-and-answer sessions, as well as autographs. Fans will also be able to try their hand at wheelchair basketball on Saturday.

The event will collect donations for the Challenged Athlete Foundation, which provides opportunities and support to people with physical challenges who want to pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics.

For more information about the origins and mission of the Wheel Rise Event, visit event page here.

WHEEL RISE EVENT TIMELINE
2 p.m. - Doors of Holloway Gym open
2:30 p.m. - Welcome and athletes presentation
2:45 p.m. - Start of first half of a wheelchair basketball game
3 p.m. - Half time: Speaker and wheelchair basketball competitions (with Purdue student-athletes)
 - Dr. Eric Nauman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Basic Medical Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering; Director, College of Engineering Honors Programs; Leads Human Injury Research and Regenerative Technologies (HIRRT) Lab

3:30 p.m. - Start of the second half
3:45 p.m. – Speaker
- Dr. Jan-Anders Mansson, Distinguished Professor of Materials Engineering and Chemical Engineering; Director of CMSC, and President of the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology, AISTS, an International Olympic Committee (IOC)

4 p.m. - Question and answer session with Paralympians, prospects and Purdue student-athletes
4:30 p.m. - Autograph session & time to meet athletes. Opportunity to try a wheelchair and get ideas for innovative assistive technology and new projects.

Leony Boudreau on 101.7 The Hammer, Thursday