Earned Not Given”: Nation’s Largest Gathering of Limb-Different Athletes Returns to Du Quoin
Date/Time
Date(s) - 07/15/2026 - 07/19/2026
12:00 am
Location
DuQuoin High School & DuQuoin State Fair Grounds
Categories
Earned Not Given”: Nation’s Largest
Gathering of Limb-Different Athletes
Returns to Du Quoin, July 15-19 for
14th Annual All Sports Camp
More Than 150 Limb-Different Athletes Will Discover That Success Is
Earned, Not Given.
DU QUOIN, Ill. — The nation’s largest gathering of limb-different athletes and coaches will
return to Du Quoin, Illinois, for the 14th Annual NubAbility All Sports Camp. It is a five-day
immersive experience centered on sports, mentorship, and personal growth for all
attending athletes. From July 15-19, more than 150 limb-different athletes and their families
from across the United States will take part in this event.
Hosted by NubAbility Athletics Foundation, the camp offers guidance in 19 different sports
while helping young limb-different athletes build confidence, develop resilience, and
discover a core message: success is earned through hard work, perseverance, and belief in
what is possible.
This year’s theme, “Earned Not Given,” is integrated throughout every part of the camp
experience. A lot of the young athletes are unsure where they fit in when it comes to sports
or how far they can actually reach. Throughout the entire week, the athletes are surrounded
by coaches who have lived very similar lives and how they have learned to face diversity. The
coaches also show these limb-different athletes that confidence is not given to them-it is
built. Just as belonging is not assigned-it is found- and success is something that they earn
one step at a time.
For many of the young athletes attending, the camp represents a rare experience: being
surrounded by peers who share similar physical challenges and understand the day-to-day
realities of living with a limb difference. Instead of standing out, they find a sense of
belonging. Instead of being overlooked, they find community. Finally, instead of being told
what they cannot do, they are shown what has already been achieved by those before
them.
“When a child walks into camp and sees hundreds of athletes with limb differences
competing, coaching, and succeeding, something changes,” said Sam Kuhnert, Founder and
Executive Director of NubAbility Athletics. “This year’s theme is ‘Earned Not Given’ because
that’s the lesson we want every camper to leave with. Nobody owes them success. Nobody
owes them confidence. But through hard work, determination, and faith, they can earn
things they never thought possible.”
Recognized on the Forbes Accessibility 200, NubAbility has become a national leader in
adaptive youth sports, serving more than 2400 limb-different athletes through 91 camps
held across 19 states. The organization’s efforts have reached families from 49 states and 11
countries. Through all the hard work and dedication, more than 20 former NubAbility
campers have gone on to compete at the collegiate level.
“What happens here goes far beyond sports,” Kuhnert said. “These kids aren’t looking for
sympathy. They’re looking for an opportunity. Our coaches show them that life’s greatest
rewards come from overcoming obstacles, putting in the work, and earning every victory.”
More than 150 families will gather in Du Quoin, reinforcing the camp’s role as a
life-changing experience for limb-different youth athletes from across the country.
Event Information
14th Annual NubAbility All Sports Summer Camp
Dates: July 15-19, 2026
Location: Du Quoin High School and Du Quoin State Fairgrounds
Du Quoin, Illinois
About NubAbility Athletics
NubAbility Athletics is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging,
inspiring, and instructing limb-different youth athletes in mainstream sports. Through
camps, clinics, mentorship, and adaptive sports programming, NubAbility empowers
children to discover that they Don’t Need Two to accomplish extraordinary things.