Pro-Golfer Casey Martin Awards Athletes with Disabilities

Pro-golfer and champion of disability rights Casey Martin announced the creation of the Casey Martin Award program. The new annual awards program, sponsored and supported by Nike, will recognize athletes with disabilities for their courage to pursue their sport of choice, despite physical, societal or cultural barriers. The first Casey Martin Award will be presented November 14, 2001, in a ceremony at the new Tiger Woods Center on the Nike campus and will feature guest speaker and fellow disabilities advocate, Senator Bob Dole. The award winner will select a nonprofit organization to receive a $25,000 grant from the Nike Foundation.

The Casey Martin Award may be given to an individual of any age with a current disability as defined by the Department of Justice; someone who has pursued their sport of choice to a level of success despite challenges, or someone who has taken a personal or public stand to support other athletes with disabilities to excel in sports. The organization chosen to receive the grant from the Casey Martin Award recipient must be a local or national eligible nonprofit organization in good standing and must provide direct service, educational or public policy support to individuals or organizations serving people with disabilities.

Stephanie Oakes is a fitness correspondent for Discovery Health Channel, a contributing editor for USA Weekend Magazine and the LA Times, and appears on NBC's 'Today in New York'. She can be reached at soakes@beststuff.com.