This month’s spotlight is Katie Brim from Colorado Springs, CO. Katie is a recipient of a 2023 Active Fund grant for a rugby chair to play with the Grand Rapids Thunder team. Because of her Active Fund grant, “training for rugby is no longer a detriment to my body’s overall health due to having a chair that is fit to me.” 

In addition to rugby, Katie is also active in handcycling and has tried sit skiing, wheelchair basketball, and rock climbing. She is currently focused on working towards qualifying for the US Paralympics team for cycling! In early 2022, Katie fell in love with the handcycling community. That summer, Katie competed in the U.S. Paracycling National Championships. “This race was the race that truly opened my eyes to how strong I am,” she recalls. Just a month later, Katie competed in a World Cup handcycling race and placed first in her class in both the time trial and road race!

“Internalizing all the limitations doctors put on me in the beginning days was very hard to accept,” Katie explains. “Being told I would need help with literally everything crushed me because of how fiercely independent I have always been.” With the help of handcycling and wheelchair rugby, though, adaptive sports have helped Katie re-discover herself. “Because of wheelchair rugby, I am so much stronger and healthier then I could ever imagine. Wheelchair rugby showed me that anything is still possible just with a bit of adaptation.”

Through adaptive sports, Katie has two main takeaways: 

  1. Doing things you may not be comfortable with can be so rewarding
  2. Your sense of self-worth comes from you – never the opinions of others.

Join us in wishing Katie the best of luck in her handcycling journey this summer!