Talk:Challenged Athletes Foundation

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Request to update outdated organizational information

COI disclosure: I am an employee of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and am submitting these proposed changes for review by an independent editor.

1. Founding date, founders and history

The article currently lists CAF as founded in 1997 and identifies Jim MacLaren as the founder. A San Diego Business Journal profile states that Jeffrey Essakow, Bob Babbitt and Rick Kozlowski organized the first San Diego Triathlon Challenge in 1994, from which CAF was created. The source distinguishes 1994 as the year of the first SDTC and 1997 as the year CAF was incorporated as a 501(c)(3).

Proposed infobox changes:

Founded: 1994

Founders: Jeffrey Essakow, Bob Babbitt and Rick Kozlowski

Proposed replacement for the opening of the History section:

The Challenged Athletes Foundation traces its origins to 1994, when Jeffrey Essakow, Bob Babbitt and Rick Kozlowski organized the first San Diego Triathlon Challenge to raise funds for endurance athlete Jim MacLaren. The event led to the creation of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. CAF was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1997.

2. Outdated program description

The article currently states that CAF is divided into four programs: Access for Athletes, Operation Rebound, Catch a Rising Star and Project N.Ex.T. This no longer reflects the organization's grant and program structure.

Rather than replacing the outdated list with another list that could become outdated, I propose describing the types of support CAF provides.

Proposed replacement:

CAF provides grants and programs supporting access to adaptive sports equipment, sports prostheses, training, coaching, travel and competition expenses for people with physical disabilities.

3. Operation Rebound

Operation Rebound remains an active CAF program and has independent sourcing establishing its history and purpose.

Proposed addition following the general program description:

In 2005, CAF launched Operation Rebound, a program serving U.S. military veterans, active-duty service members and first responders with permanent physical disabilities. The program provides grants for adaptive sports equipment and access to sports and athletic communities.

4. CAF-Idaho

CAF also operates a regional program in Idaho that is independently documented.

Proposed addition:

CAF also operates CAF-Idaho, a regional program headquartered at the Idaho Outdoor Fieldhouse in Boise. The program provides grants for adaptive sports equipment, training and competition expenses.

5. Disability terminology

Several portions of the article use the terms "people with physical challenges," "disabled athletes" and "challenged athletes" in Wikipedia's narrative voice. Contemporary sources describing CAF use person-first terminology, including "people with physical disabilities" and "athletes with physical disabilities."

Proposed changes:

• "people with physical challenges" → "people with physical disabilities"
• "disabled athletes" → "athletes with physical disabilities"
• "challenged athletes" → "athletes with physical disabilities"

These changes would apply only to Wikipedia's narrative voice and would not alter quotations, historical titles or proper names.

6. Outdated fundraising figure

The article currently states that CAF has raised more than $191 million. FOX 5 San Diego reported in 2026 that CAF had surpassed $200 million raised since its inception.

Proposed replacement:

As of 2026, CAF had raised more than $200 million since its inception.

Thank you for reviewing these proposed updates.

~2026-52199-94 (talk) 22:06, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

References