VA Adaptive Sports Grants — Paralympic and Adapted Athletics for Disabled Veterans

Legal Authority

• 38 U.S.C. § 322 — Establishes the VA Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Disabled Members of the Armed Forces; authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to nonprofits with experience in adaptive sports; specifies eligible grantees, grant terms, and reporting requirements
• 38 U.S.C. § 501 — General regulatory authority for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe rules necessary for the efficient administration of VA laws
• 38 CFR Part 77 — VA implementing regulations; governs competitive and noncompetitive grant awards, grant terms, fund disbursement schedules, monitoring, audit requirements, and grant recovery procedures

Key Mechanics

38 CFR Part 77 implements the VA Adaptive Sports Grant program authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 322, providing federal funding to nonprofits to deliver adapted sports programming for disabled veterans and active-duty servicemembers. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the primary grantee; VA may award additional competitive grants to other nonprofits with documented adaptive sports experience. Grant funds flow from VA to grantee organizations (typically USOPC and its National Governing Bodies), which then subgrant to VA medical centers, state and local adapted sports programs, and community organizations. Eligible activities include competitive adapted sports programs, Paralympic sports clinics, adaptive recreation at VA facilities, and training for coaches and program administrators. Under Part 77, grantees must: maintain records of all participants, events, and expenditures; submit an annual report within 60 days after the fiscal year end; comply with VA audit requirements; and return unused funds. VA may recover grant funds used for ineligible purposes. Both competitive grants (open application process) and noncompetitive grants (directed to specific statutory grantees like USOPC) are authorized; the Secretary retains discretion over grant amounts and terms subject to congressional appropriation levels.

Approximately 5 million veterans receiving VA care have a service-connected or non-service-connected disability. For many, adaptive sports — wheelchair basketball, sit skiing, hand cycling, swimming, archery, track and field, and dozens of other disciplines modified for disability — provide rehabilitation benefits that clinical programs alone cannot match: rebuilding strength, confidence, coordination, and social connection. The VA's Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Disabled Members of the Armed Forces program, established under 38 U.S.C. § 322 and implemented at 38 CFR Part 77, provides federal funding to nonprofit organizations — most prominently United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and its National Governing Bodies — to deliver adapted sports programming at VA facilities and in communities nationwide.

Current Rule (2026)

What This Rule Does

Congress created the VA Adaptive Sports Grant program in recognition that organized athletic activity is a critical component of rehabilitation for veterans with physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and PTSD — and that the VA's own clinical staff and facilities cannot fully deliver competitive sports programming. Part 77 establishes how VA selects grantees, what terms grantees must accept, how funds are disbursed and monitored, and how VA recovers funds from grantees who misuse them.

The program primarily flows through a noncompetitive grant to the USOPC (formerly the U.S. Olympic Committee), which Congress identified as uniquely capable of delivering the infrastructure, coach training, competition structure, and Paralympic pathway that organized adaptive sports requires. The USOPC subgrants funds through its affiliated National Paralympic Sport Organizations (NPSOs) — organizations like Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports USA, U.S. Quad Rugby Association, and USA Shooting — which in turn deliver programming at VA medical facilities and community locations. VA may also issue competitive grants to other eligible entities when multiple organizations can serve the same population or when geographic gaps exist.

Key Provisions

• § 77.1 — Purpose and scope: the program provides grants to eligible entities to develop, manage, and implement programs to provide adaptive sports opportunities for disabled veterans and disabled members of the Armed Forces; grants are for both competitive sports (those leading toward Paralympic Games participation) and recreational adaptive athletics; both in-patient and outpatient veterans, and active duty service members with disabilities, are eligible to participate in funded programming

• § 77.2 — Eligible entities: to receive a grant, an organization must: (1) be a nonprofit organization; (2) have the demonstrated capacity to provide adaptive sports programming to disabled veterans or disabled military members; (3) agree to conduct joint outreach with VA; and (4) comply with all applicable federal requirements including nondiscrimination, financial management, and reporting standards; for-profit entities are not eligible; eligibility extends to state and local governments where they can serve as the most effective delivery mechanism in specific regions

• § 77.12–77.13 — Notice and application: when VA has funds available for competitive grants, it publishes a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) on grants.gov specifying the funding amount, eligible uses, application requirements, and deadline; for noncompetitive grants (where VA determines that only one entity — typically USOPC — has the capability to accomplish the program objectives), VA may award directly without a competitive process; the noncompetitive determination requires documentation that the entity is uniquely capable and that competition would not improve program outcomes

• § 77.10 — Peer review: grant applications may be evaluated by peer reviewers — experts in adaptive sports, disability rehabilitation, or veterans' programs — who score applications on criteria including organizational capacity, program design, geographic reach, and proposed outcomes; peer review may be used for both competitive and noncompetitive applications as a quality assurance mechanism

• § 77.11 — Joint outreach requirement: grantees must conduct a joint outreach campaign with VA to ensure that all eligible veterans and separating military members are informed about adaptive sports opportunities; the outreach requirement reflects Congress's recognition that many veterans with disabilities are unaware of adaptive sports programs — connecting veterans to sports opportunities is as important as funding the programming itself; grantees and VA must collaborate on outreach materials, VA social media channels, VHA community care communications, and events at VA medical centers

• § 77.14 — Grant agreement: after VA approves a grant, it drafts a formal grant agreement specifying: the amount of the grant; the time period; the scope of work (specific programs, locations, and populations served); budget by category; reporting requirements; audit rights; conditions for payment; and grounds for termination or recovery of funds; the grant agreement is executed before any funds are obligated; grantees may not incur costs against the grant before the agreement is signed

• § 77.15 — Payment: VA pays grantees in accordance with the NOFA-specified schedule — either as advance payments at the start of the period of performance, or as reimbursements after costs are incurred; subgrantee payments (from USOPC to NPSOs) must follow the same schedule; grantees may not pay a subgrantee more than the subgrantee has earned through performance

• § 77.16 — Annual reporting: grantees must submit an annual report to VA within 60 days after the end of each federal fiscal year (by November 29) covering: the number of disabled veterans served; the number of adaptive sports events conducted; program geographic reach (facilities and communities where programs operated); outcome data (veterans' self-reported improvement in physical function, mental health, and community reintegration); budget expenditure by category; and a narrative on program highlights and challenges; VA uses the annual reports to assess grantee performance and guide future grant awards

• § 77.17 — Recovery of funds: VA may recover any grant funds not used in accordance with the grant agreement; before recovering funds, VA must issue a written decision stating the amount and basis for recovery and provide the grantee an opportunity to respond; the grantee may repay or provide documentation that the funds were properly spent; unresolved recovery actions become federal debts subject to offset from future VA awards

• § 77.18 — Monitoring and visits: VA has the right to visit all grantee locations where grant funds are being used, at any reasonable time, to review accounts, records, and program operations; grantees must provide access and records upon request; monitoring visits are part of VA's stewardship responsibility for federal funds and may result in technical assistance, corrective action requests, or (for serious violations) suspension of payments

How It Affects You

If you are a disabled veteran or disabled military service member: adaptive sports programs funded under Part 77 are available at VA medical centers and in communities near you — contact your VA medical center's recreation therapy or physical medicine department to learn what programs are available; activities include wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, cycling, swimming, shooting sports, archery, golf, tennis, sled hockey, and snow skiing; you do not need a service-connected disability to participate, and you do not need to be at Paralympic competitive levels — recreational participation is the norm; if you are interested in competitive Paralympic sports, ask your VA recreation therapist or prosthetics coordinator about the Paralympic Military Program, which supports qualifying veterans toward international competition.

If you are a nonprofit organization or sports governing body: to apply for a VA adaptive sports grant, you must be a nonprofit with demonstrated capacity to serve disabled veterans; monitor grants.gov for Notices of Funding Availability published by VA; the primary competitive grant opportunity is for regional or specialized programs not covered by the USOPC's nationwide infrastructure; the USOPC noncompetitive grant covers most nationwide Paralympic sport disciplines through NPSOs, but gaps exist in certain geographic areas and specific adaptive disciplines; grant applications are evaluated on organizational track record, reach to underserved veteran populations, and specific program design.

If you are a VA clinician, recreation therapist, or social worker: Part 77 grants fund the external programming that complements VA's internal therapeutic recreation and rehabilitation services; adaptive sports grantees work alongside VA staff at VA medical facilities — facilitating programming on VA grounds and connecting inpatient and outpatient veterans to community-based opportunities; referral pathways vary by VA medical center, but recreation therapy departments typically coordinate with USOPC's National Paralympic Sport Organizations for clinical co-programming; veterans with amputations, spinal cord injuries, visual impairments, TBI, or PTSD often benefit most from adaptive sports integration as part of their rehabilitation plans.

Statutory Authority

This rule implements:

• 38 U.S.C. § 322 — Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Disabled Members of the Armed Forces: authorizes VA to make grants for adaptive sports programming; identifies the USOPC as a primary eligible grantee; requires joint outreach; authorizes both competitive and noncompetitive grants
• 38 U.S.C. § 501 — Rules and Regulations: VA's general rulemaking authority supporting the implementing regulations at 38 CFR Part 77

Recent Rulemakings

• 80 FR 44419 (July 2015) — final rule establishing 38 CFR Part 77 with the current grant framework; created the formal regulatory structure for a program that had operated on a statutory basis since 2014
• Annual appropriations: Congress funds the adaptive sports grant program through the VA's Medical Care account as part of the annual VA appropriations bill; funding levels have ranged from approximately $10–12 million per year; the USOPC's noncompetitive grant represents the majority of program funding, with the balance available for competitive grants to other nonprofits

Pending Action