National Recreation and Park Association 2024 Conference

The NRPA or National Recreation and Park Association recently held its annual conference in Atlanta and Extreme Motus was there to show off our earth conquering all-terrain wheelchair.

What is the National Recreation and Park Association?

For more than 50 years, the National Recreation and Park Association Annual Conference has been the premier annual meeting of the park and recreation community. It’s a conference where city planners, architects, engineers, parks and recreation employees can gather to share ideas, attend classes, and see the latest playground equipment.

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is a leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant, and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. They focus on protecting open spaces, connecting children to nature, and engaging communities in conservation practices. NRPA also works to ensure that everyone has access to the benefits of local parks and recreation, promoting health and wellness through these resources

Why did Extreme Motus Attend the NRPA?

We attended the 2024 National Recreation and Park Association event because we want to see more Extreme Motus all-terrain wheelchairs available to the public. Whether it’s a state park, national park, or skate park having the right piece of adaptive equipment available on site will benefit many visitors. When you exclude a person with a disability, you exclude their whole family.

The Extreme Motus all-terrain wheelchair can be pushed over grass, gravel, dirt, rocks, sand, snow, and even floats in water. It’s durable and lightweight and folds in half for storage or transport. Its large low-pressure tires provide a comfortable ride, and the disk brakes allow the chair to descend steep trails safely.

The Extreme Motus all-terrain wheelchair is a good addition to parks and outdoor spaces. Providing the right piece of equipment can make a park accessible while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rather than make expensive changes to the trail system like pouring concrete or covering trails with boardwalks adaptive equipment can make use of the park’s existing trail system.

We met so many great people who were there to learn more about accessibility in the outdoors and find solutions to make their parks and outdoor spaces more accessible. We look forward to working with them to make nature wheelchair accessible.

Did you have any fun in Atlanta?

Yup! Part of the National Recreation and Park Association event was held at the Georgia Aquarium. We had an amazing dinner at the largest aquarium in the world. During this event, the aquarium was closed to the public and only people attending the NRPA were allowed inside. And because we wore the loudest shirts on earth many people at the event recognized us and asked questions about Sam and the Extreme Motus all terrain wheelchair.

We also visited the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark for a shred session while in town and I pushed Sam down a hill. We always have time to goof around especially when we’re working. We made some new friends at the skatepark who rode with us, and asked many questions about the chair.

My favorite video from this trip was filmed in a hallway leaving the conference hall. I asked Sam to say, “Hey Ryan your shoe’s untied.” Then I planned let him roll away down the sloped hallway.

Instead of saying his line he said, “Hey Ryan you’re…. stupid.” I was dying laughing editing this video as we waited to board our plane. We were both laughing so hard at this that the people sitting behind us moved to a different section of the airport.

We look forward to attending more National Recreation and Park Association events in the future and continuing to build on the relationships we made during this trip.