The NEBAA/SEC has not only served as an excellent opportunity to involve blind and visually impaired youth in sports, but because of our affiliation with Western Michigan University, we are also able to use the events to conduct a great deal of research on the youth served through the camps. The research done at the SEC's has shown that the skills learned at the camps have had a continuing positive impact on the lives of these youth. In fact, more than 45% of students who attended sports camp for two consecutive years participated on their home school sports teams. In addition, 80% of these youth participated in their school physical education programs, compared to 27% of blind and visually impaired youth overall.
The research conducted following the 2001 SECs shows that the number of questions answered correctly on the sports knowledge survey increased from 5.8 at the pre-camp assessment to 7.3 at the post-camp assessment. On the sports attitude questionnaire, youth who were returning to the camp for the second time were 42.1% more likely to respond positively to the statement "I know how to change a sport so I can play." This shows that not only are these youth learning skills at the camps, but also they are able to apply what they have learned to help adapt sports to their needs in a school or extracurricular setting.
Rock Climbing
