On a rainy December Monday at Pacific Lutheran University, Charlie Katica stood dressed in slacks, stylish sneakers and a wet rain jacket. Katica is an associate professor of kinesiology at PLU, and he's also president of the nonprofit Rainier Adaptive Sports.
Welcoming and laid-back, he talked about the project that brings together his career, academic research and personal passion: serving South Sound adaptive sport and recreation athletes.
Youth in Pierce County with physical disabilities are almost twice as likely to have zero days of physical activity.
"There's a lot of great opportunities and there's a lot of great people that are advocating for it, disabilities, but there always needs to be more," Katica said.
Katica coaches the Tacoma Titans, the number six ranked team in Division-III of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.
Earlier that month, Katica’s Titans nearly topped the Providence Saints at the annual Seattle Jam wheelchair basketball tournament in Bellevue. They won two out of three games for the weekend, the loss was only their second this season. Despite the outcome, coach Katica was enthused about the tournament's importance for disabled individuals in Washington.
The Titans are assisted by Rainier Adaptive Sports. The all-volunteer run 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity fosters accessible recreation and sport opportunities for Tacoma, Pierce County and the surrounding region.
"Rainier Adaptive is something that I can build from the ground up...something I haven't done before," Katica said. "So it's a new challenge for me, and something totally different for me."
Born out of pressures created before and during the pandemic, the three-year-old nonprofit isn't just seeking to grow adaptive sports opportunities, it's working to provide a necessary service for people with physical disabilities.
"Disability is not necessarily brought up a lot of times, it's kind of like an afterthought," Katica said. But not for him.
Popular adaptive sports
Adaptive sports and recreation for people with disabilities often parallel their traditional counterparts. They emphasize modification to support a person’s abilities.
Popular adaptive sports include wheelchair basketball and goalball. Competitors utilize their abilities to play. For example, in goalball — originally designed for visually impaired World War II veterans — players listen for an oncoming ball rolled by the other team and attempt to block it using ear-hand coordination.
From Seattle to Spokane, there are 12 adaptive sports clubs in Washington recognized by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic committee. These clubs support a wide range of sports from sailing to archery, paddle sports and wheelchair rugby.
There's also unified sports, which weave into the adaptive sports fabric. Comprised of athletes with and without intellectual disabilities, unified sports teams emphasize similar abilities and age.
Pandemic cuts impact accessible play in Pierce County
There are approximately 24,000 people with a disability in Tacoma, according to the U.S. Census.
This community, 11% of the city's population, lost direct access to adaptive programming due to Metro Parks Tacoma cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The responsibility to organize fell to the players and their teams.
Rainier Adaptive Sports incorporated in the fall of 2020 in response. The new organization’s founders worried limited access to adaptive recreation in Tacoma and Pierce County, which already falls below nation and state averages in play for able-bodied and disabled children, was at risk.
Rainier Adaptive Sports is not alone in noticing the gap. In 2023, two op-eds in The News Tribune outlined Pierce County and Tacoma’s need to cultivate accessible play and recreation. Then-council member Keith Blocker relayed a commitment to serving those with disabilities, while News Tribune columnist Matt Driscoll addressed inequities in play for children.
Also in 2023, The Aspen Institute released State of Play: Tacoma-Pierce County, part of its nationwide initiative to identify gaps in access to youth sports. Commissioned by Metro Parks Tacoma and funded by the Names Family Foundation, the report is based on a year-long investigation into sports and recreation opportunities in the region.
The State of Play report outlines how accessible play options in Pierce County are in flux. Among its findings: Youth in Pierce County with physical disabilities are almost twice as likely to have zero days of physical activity.
The report details the value of physical activity in a region where 58% of 10th graders feel sad or depressed on most days. Active youth experience lower levels of depression, self-derogation or ridicule and can be exposed to good mental health practices.
Despite the growth of Special Olympics and Unified Sports in Pierce County, the Aspen Institute found the region's culture overemphasized winning and chasing scholarships. This type of competitive play creates a barrier for recreational opportunities, for individuals of all-skill levels.
Families also reported participating in adaptive sports and recreation required additional travel, especially before Rainier Adaptive Sports launched.
Establishing a new nonprofit to take on the problem
Katica is no stranger to adaptive sports and recreation. While earning his doctorate in kinesiology and exercise science, Katica served as the head coach of the University of Alabama women’s wheelchair basketball team. After moving to Pierce County, he found a local team to lend his expertise.
Katica said his approach, then and now, is figuring out how to best assist the athletes and other coaches. To this end, Rainier Adaptive Sports helps the teams with jerseys, scheduling, as well as paying for flights or hotels.
“They come in, they’re in charge of their teams and they help with fundraising, and things like that. We help with just, kind of, the overall," Katica explained.
According to Katica, Rainier Adaptive Sports focuses its collaborative efforts by asking: “How can we build this partnership?” The nonprofit’s board meetings started the same way.
When they realized the gravity of the Metro Parks cuts, Katica and co-founder Parker Ayers gathered community members to answer: “How do we keep this going?”
Rainier Adaptive Sports launched programming in 2021, partnering with Metro Parks Tacoma for storage and facility use in exchange for a percentage of registration fees. Local Boys and Girls clubs, the Eastside Community Center and the Star Center soon got involved.
Rainier Adaptive Sports' approach
Word of mouth is a double-edge sword for adaptive sports, limiting its growth but also building key relationships.
The State of Play report noted families are often unaware of adaptive sports opportunities, until they hear about it from someone else in their community. Previously, those opportunities were concentrated in Seattle.
A mom of a wheelchair basketball player told the Aspen Institute: “We hear about (opportunities) in Seattle because we go to Seattle Children’s, but we can’t drive there all the time. Rainier has been really life-changing for us.”
As Rainier Adaptive Sports tries to get the word out about its programs, Katica sees this testimonial as an opportunity for collaboration with other nonprofits. One of their biggest sports rivals, Seattle Adaptive Sports, is also a close collaborator.
"We're trying to help...and see how can we serve more people, just overall," Katica said. "If people are kind of halfway between, we're like, 'hey, there's Seattle.' Give them the options."
Word of mouth has also helped Rainier Adaptive Sports secure funding. At PLU, Katica was exposed to the Names Family Foundation and connected with Executive Director Patricia Shults through colleagues. Rainier Adaptive Sports eventually received funding from the Names Family Foundation.
The nonprofit has also found support through the regional sports community. In November 2023, Rainier Adaptive Sports won $5,000 from Seattle Sports'—formerly 710 ESPN Seattle—2023 Improve Your Play Competition to upgrade their junior wheelchair basketball team’s equipment. Rainier Adaptive Sports submitted an essay about their mission:
“Connect our community through opportunities around sports and recreation. Helping people with physical disabilities discover their superpowers through life experiences and lasting relationships. Serving community members of all ages, veterans, and active duty military.”
Rainier Adaptive Sports is listening to the community to establish new programs. With further funding, Rainier Adaptive Sports hopes individuals can access their interests like adaptive bocce using ramps, pickleball and recumbent tandem bikes.
Even at programming capacity for the all-volunteer team, Rainier Adaptive Sports continues to look for partners. In order to grow accessibility, Katica and his colleagues have begun to search for funding and partnerships to eventually support a dedicated staff.
Ultimately, for Katica, it’s about “focusing on the ability side" of any given disability.
Acknowledging what a player can do, how they can participate, is the gateway to broader awareness of adaptive sports and recreation in South Sound communities.
