On January 11–12, 2024, Lakeshore Foundation hosted a grand opening celebration of their new Sports Science and Performance Center. Several past and future Paralympians including Chuck Aoki attended the event.
Zion Redington represented Team USA Wheelchair Rugby (USAWR) and demonstrated the recovery room, just one of the many features and programs available to elite athletes in Birmingham.
A news report on WVTM 13, the NBC affiliate in Birmingham, noted, “Zion Redington, 17, is the youngest member of the U.S. Paralympic wheelchair rugby team. He’ll compete in this year’s Paralympics in Paris. His family moved from Nashville to Birmingham two years ago so he could be closer to Lakeshore. He says the SSPC can give elite athletes a competitive edge. Redington says, ‘All these different things within your sport that will help you excel, even if it’s that 1%, that 1% is truly what makes the difference between winning the gold and not being on a podium.'”
Watch both news reports below: