{"id":73229,"date":"2025-07-10T05:15:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T11:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/?p=73229"},"modified":"2025-07-23T16:37:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T22:37:58","slug":"operation-gold-the-creation-of-a-paralympic-program-from-scratch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/operation-gold-the-creation-of-a-paralympic-program-from-scratch\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Gold: The Creation of a Paralympic Program From Scratch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When <strong>Ford Dyke<\/strong>\u2019s phone rang in November 2023, on the other end was the voice of a former teammate from the USA Handball national team.<\/p>\n<p>That phone conversation would lead to a whirlwind year-and-a-half that saw Dyke \u2014 with plenty of help from the Alabama communities of Auburn and Opelika \u2014 create a team that would compete in a world championship event four months after inception.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article_sidebar\">\n<p><b>Related Stories<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/bill-introduced-to-improve-u-s-sports-diplomacy\/\">Bill Introduced to Improve U.S. Sports Diplomacy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/la28-celebrates-three-year-mark-to-2028-paralympic-games\/\">LA28 Celebrates Three Year Mark to 2028 Paralympic Games<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/u-s-travel-launches-sports-events-coalition\/\">U.S. Travel Launches Sports Events Coalition<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/john-kemp-adaptive-sports-inclusive-cities-and-paralympic-progress\/\">John Kemp: Adaptive Sports, Inclusive Cities and Paralympic Progress<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/los-angeles-continues-preparation-for-2028-paralympic-games\/\">Los Angeles Signs Accessibility Commitment Ahead of 2028 Paralympic Games<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Dyke played for the USA Handball national team from 2013\u20132020. During that time he also attended Auburn University as a graduate student, working as a strength coach and helping with the wheelchair basketball program. After finishing his PhD and becoming a professor at Auburn, Dyke continued his work with adaptive sports.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where the phone call comes into play.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy former teammate asked if I was familiar with wheelchair handball, and I told him I had no idea what he was talking about,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cHe said, \u2018you&#8217;re the only person we can think of in the country that has wheelchair specific experience as well as handball specific experience, and we want to merge those two worlds together and appoint you as the head coach.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anybody who speaks for more than a few minutes with Dyke will realize that his competitiveness runs high. So yes, he accepted the challenge.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Assembling on the Fly<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Wheelchair handball is co-ed sport that features an active roster of 10 players, with at least two of the players required to be women, and with one woman on the court at all times.<\/p>\n<p>On May 16, 2024, Team USA received a wild card to compete in the third International Handball Federation Wheelchair Handball World Championship in Cairo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom May until September it was 14 hours a day, every day, building the program from A to Z,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cFrom not just athletes and staff, but partners, sponsors, support, getting the community involved, getting the right equipment and training facilities, all of the right resources necessary. But we weren\u2019t just trying to get a team off the ground, we wanted to ensure we become the gold standard in the sport, pun intended.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The task of identifying some of the top wheelchair athletes in the country, flying them to Auburn for tryouts, selecting a team and preparing for a world championship event in four months sounds impossible. But the community jumped into action, led by <strong>Anthony Terling<\/strong>, sports development director at Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73233\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73233\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73233\" src=\"https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125135\/Team-USA-Handball-Coaches.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125135\/Team-USA-Handball-Coaches.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125135\/Team-USA-Handball-Coaches-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125135\/Team-USA-Handball-Coaches-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125135\/Team-USA-Handball-Coaches-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73233\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ford Dyke, center, and Reita Clanton, left, keep a watchful eye on the competition at the 2024 Wheelchair Handball World Championship. Photo courtesy of Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;ve got a laundry list of community members and officials that are behind us,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cWe&#8217;re supported by Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism, and Anthony Terling has been incredible. His CEO <strong>Robyn Bridges<\/strong> is amazing. <strong>Karen Gilmore <\/strong>helps set us up with accommodations in town and makes sure our athletes are fed properly. <strong>Travis Harrison<\/strong> is doing PR stuff and shouting us out on the radio. <strong>Awbrey Mitchell<\/strong> is working behind the scenes on logistics for training sites. The City of Auburn Parks and Recs \u2014 <strong>Alison Hall<\/strong> and <strong>Sarah Cook<\/strong> \u2014 have been huge as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Terling is passionate about helping those in need. He and his wife Lindsey are the creators of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.austin1stfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Austin 1st Foundation<\/a>, a nonprofit that raises awareness and research dollars for rare diseases. When Dyke called him to ask for help getting the team off the ground, Terling got to work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe made sure they were connected to the elected officials, the leaders in our community, the stakeholders \u2014 whether it&#8217;s Auburn Parks and Recreation making sure that we found the best venue that fit their needs from a training standpoint, down to what hotel or lodging accommodation would best fit the needs of athletes that have disabilities to make their experience great,\u201d Terling said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know these things are not easy to fund, but we told Ford we want to be your resource for that. And then let&#8217;s open up some doors and some conversations for him and really showcase this monumental opportunity to support amazing athletes, coaches, trainers \u2014 all the people involved with USA Wheelchair Handball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The saying \u201cit takes a village\u201d applies to the USA Wheelchair Handball movement in this Alabama community. Dyke is fortunate to have two Olympians as assistant coaches \u2014 <strong>Reita Clanton<\/strong>, a 1984 Olympian and 1996 Olympic coach in team handball and <strong>Lisa Eagen<\/strong>, a 1996 Olympian who was coached by Clanton.<\/p>\n<p>The team also has goalkeeper coaches, physiotherapists, a technical director, athletic trainer and strength coaches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;ve even got friends and family throwing in some help,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cWe&#8217;re fully self-funded. I work as a volunteer and my entire staff works as volunteers. Is that sustainable? Definitely not. But that\u2019s what it takes to start something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Silver Linings in Cairo<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Once Dyke and his coaches narrowed the roster down to 14 and trained for months in Auburn, it was off to Cairo last September.<\/p>\n<p>Team USA wasn\u2019t expected to do much ahead of the tournament. That they were able to field a team in time for the event was a massive success in itself. However, Dyke\u2019s competitiveness was on full display when the team arrived in Egypt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe show up in Egypt and as a wild card you&#8217;re perceived as the participant \u2026 just sit over there in the corner. Thanks for coming, let the rest of these teams do their job,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cSo in the first interview in Egypt, I was asked by an IHF media official, \u2018What are your plans for this tournament? What do you hope to get out of this tournament?\u2019 And I said something like, \u2018A lot of you think we came here to participate. You&#8217;re wrong. We&#8217;re going to play in the final match.\u2019 And I saw the eyebrows of that individual raise up in pure shock.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73234\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73234\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73234\" src=\"https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125322\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Celebration.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125322\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Celebration.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125322\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Celebration-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125322\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Celebration-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125322\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Celebration-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73234\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Team USA Wheelchair Handball celebrates a huge win at the 2024 Wheelchair Handball World Championship in Cairo. Photo courtesy of Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The makeshift squad \u2014 donning the Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism logo on its jerseys \u2014 stunned defending world champion Brazil in a sudden-death shootout in the semifinals to clinch a spot in the gold medal game against host Egypt.<\/p>\n<p>Operation Gold \u2014 the name Dyke has given the team \u2014 was put on hold when the U.S. side fell to Egypt. But they had made a big statement to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn hindsight, I&#8217;m glad we didn&#8217;t win the gold,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cI think if we won gold, all the athletes would&#8217;ve said, \u2018What else is there to do right now?\u2019 There&#8217;s a carrot hanging in front of them and that&#8217;s what keeps a lot of athletes motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Raising Awareness (And Dollars)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Dyke has made his intentions clear with everybody in the wheelchair handball program \u2014 Operation Gold is the standard. That journey starts with an upcoming tournament in Europe, then attention turns back to world championships.<\/p>\n<p>Team USA will head to the \u201cEuro Hand 4 All\u201d tournament June 19\u201322 in Lyon, France, against France, Hungary, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. Terling has organized a proper sendoff as Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism will host a Red, White and Blue exhibition match on June 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Wilmore Recreation Center for the community to attend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur state overall is a rich sports state from a history standpoint. There are a lot of Olympians that come out of Alabama,\u201d Terling said. \u201cWe have people from the community coming out to watch any sport we host, whether it&#8217;s swim and dive, mountain biking, kickball. No matter what sport, our community will rally around it and support it. So what we can do very well as a destination marketing organization is get the word out.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73235\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73235\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73235\" src=\"https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125446\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Training.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125446\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Training.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125446\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Training-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125446\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Training-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.sportstravelmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/11125446\/Team-USA-Wheelchair-Handball-Training-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Auburn University and the surrounding community have embraced the team, which trains at the university facilities. Photo courtesy of Auburn\u2013Opelika Tourism<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While Terling and his staff work to get the word out locally, Dyke encourages anybody who wants to support the program to go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usateamhandball.org\/wheelchair-national-team\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USA Wheelchair Handball website<\/a> and reach out to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon&#8217;t be shy. I&#8217;ll take any call. I&#8217;m willing to talk to any business, any professional, anybody interested,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cWe\u2019re always open to opportunities to connect with anybody who can help provide resources, flights, room and board for our athletes. Anything is helpful at this stage of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After France, the team will continue preparations for the 2026 World Championships, but they also have an eye on future Paralympic competition.\u00a0At the moment, wheelchair handball is not on the Paralympic program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. But LA28 will feature a demonstration, or \u201cshowcase\/test\u201d event, that a sport must go through to be considered for inclusion into the full docket.<\/p>\n<p>If that demonstration goes well, wheelchair handball could be on the Brisbane 2032 program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are in conversation and in working groups with the International Handball Federation for the demonstration at LA28,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cSo we&#8217;re continuing to make sure that what we&#8217;re doing is top-notch because everyone&#8217;s looking at us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Dyke continues to juggle his full-time job as a professor with coach of the team, he knows what this opportunity means.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they&#8217;ve already answered it just based on their actions, and seeing the level of growth from last year&#8217;s first tryout to this year,\u201d Dyke said of his players. \u201cWe&#8217;re not in this for any sort of money or glory. We&#8217;re in this because I want to lower barriers. I want to open doors, and I want to set the tone to create a pathway for athletes to compete in a new Paralympic sport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Ford Dyke\u2019s phone rang in November 2023, on the other end was the voice of a former teammate from the USA Handball national team. That phone conversation would lead to a whirlwind year-and-a-half that saw Dyke \u2014 with plenty of help from the Alabama communities of Auburn and Opelika \u2014 create a team that 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