“HUMANICS COMMANDS ALL OF US TO BE HOPEFUL, HUMBLE, CARING, AND DUTIFUL. IT IS A CALL TO ACTION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS. IT IS IN OUR SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE DNA,” SAYS ROBERT ACCORSI.


1957 pioneered and launched, in cooperation with the Paralyzed Veterans Association, the first U.S. National Wheelchair Games. While these three early founders of the Paralympics had no direct connections with Springfield College, Accorsi’s lecture noted important connections with the Humanics philosophy in their character traits: “Guttman, Nugent, and Lipton, possessed the common bonds of Humanics … and engendered those endearing qualities to create change for the betterment of humankind. These three men possessed the spirit of Humanics. Humanics commands all of us to be hopeful, humble, caring, and dutiful. It is a call to action to make a difference in the lives of others. It is in our Springfield College DNA.”


Accorsi sees therapeutic recreation programs sponsored by the College and the adaptive physical education curriculum at Springfield College as important precursors and ongoing energizers to the Paralympics and athletics opportunities for disabled people. “The passion of professors such as Bob Bergquist made me believe that you have the ability to make a difference if you believe. That was instilled as an institutional value that has stayed with me my entire career.”


THE “REBIRTH” ARCHETYPE he explains.


In his role as CEO for the Commonwealth Games 2014, Grevemberg oversees all aspects of planning—assuring everything is on time and on budget across all functional areas. The Commonwealth Games’ Paralympic competition is unique and distinct from any other games; they are the only games with able-bodied and parasport athletes competing together. Glasgow will host 22 events with able-bodied and paras- port athletes competing at the same venue,


TRIANGLE 1 Vol. 83, No. 3


Others from Springfield College have dared greatly by competing in the Paralympics or dedicated themselves to promoting and creating sport opportunities for differently-abled athletes on the local, regional, national, international, and Paralympic levels. As Accorsi stated in his lecture: “The core values of Humanics at Springfield College have become a compo- nent of our personhood, and mandate that we are called to action.”


DARING GREATLY By David Grevemberg


living together, attending ceremonies together, and having all their medals count toward their country’s totals.


For Grevemberg, the Humanics connection comes into play in Paralympic competition with a notion he calls “daring greatly.” “We all have moments in our life journey when we kind of die, and moments when we are reborn and we ascend higher and stronger. That ‘rebirth archetype’ is something that relies on the coming together of mind, body, and spirit to complete our journey—at times it may require feats of audacity to succeed. Being able to see those ideals and moments of “daring greatly” come to fruition in real tangible outcomes, on a very grand scale, is something I’ve been privileged to do for 16 years, working with the IOC and now in Glasgow. I credit Springfield College where I learned to be a sports manager. It informed me to view sport as much more than a game and to make it transformational. The Paralympics is a movement that has really benefited from the Humanics approach,”


“I CREDIT SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE WHERE I LEARNED TO BE A SPORTS MANAGER. IT INFORMED ME TO VIEW SPORT AS MUCH MORE THAN A GAME AND TO MAKE IT TRANSFORMATIONAL. THE PARALYMPICS IS A MOVEMENT THAT HAS REALLY BENEFITED FROM THE HUMANICS APPROACH,” GREVEMBERG EXPLAINS.


To dare greatly is:


Putting ourselves out there for the world to see;


Having the courage to stand-up for our principles and beliefs;


Challenging ourselves and others for the sake of a common, or uncommon, cause or purpose;


Dedicating ourselves to a pursuit, a journey, an Odyssey;


Looking for the good within every person, and respecting them and not fearing them;


Remembering, appreciating and learning from our past, contemplating our present and planning for our future;


Forgiving and reconciling;


Giving graciously and receiving humbly; Dreaming in “only possibilities;” Thinking the unthinkable, believing in the unbelievable and achieving the impossible;


This being said….sport dares each of us to dare greatly.


Note: Grevemberg wrote this poem to the Paralympic family when he stepped down as the IPC executive director of sport and international federation relations in 2009.


Bob Bergquist ’65, G’69


Bob Bergquist served as professor, colleague, and mentor to many Springfield College people contributing to adaptive sports and the Paralympic movement. He created a functional classification for athletes with cerebral palsy and with his graduate assis- tant, Grant Peacock, coached athletes at the International Cerebral Palsy Games. Bob also ran adaptive aquatics for adults, a program for asthmatic children, and helped out as a trainer for many other adaptive programs sponsored by the College.


Dave Beaver, Ed.D., ’57, G’58


Dave Beaver’s long and varied career and his commitment to adaptive sports and paralympic sport goes back decades.


continued on page 38 11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43