The Kiwanis Club of Glen Cove will honor the legacy of late Glen Cove Councilman Michael Zangari this month with its annual Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, an event centered on youth athletics, disability awareness and community fundraising.
The event is scheduled for May 21 at Glen Cove High School and features local first responders and educators competing against athletes from the New York Rolling Fury, a nonprofit wheelchair basketball organization for teens with disabilities.
The fundraiser was first created in 2017 by Zangari and Phyllis Burnett as a way to support community programs while highlighting adaptive athletics. Kiwanis secretary Rosemary Olsen said.
Zangari, who died in April 2021 at age 61 after battling cancer, was widely known throughout Glen Cove for his involvement in civic and youth organizations. He served on the Youth Bureau board, coached CYO basketball and led the Kiwanis Club as president. He was elected to the City Council in 2015 and re-elected in 2017 before stepping down the following year because of his illness.
Born with spina bifida, Zangari became a wheelchair user at age 51, but remained heavily involved in athletics and advocacy. He served as commissioner of the Eastern Wheelchair Basketball Conference and worked for years with the United Spinal Association repairing and servicing wheelchairs.
The New York Rolling Fury team is made up primarily of high school-aged athletes. During the event, players will compete against rotating teams thainclude members of the Glen Cove Police Department and Glen Cove teachers.
Funds raised through the tournament support both the Rolling Fury organization and Kiwanis charitable programs, including scholarships for graduating students.
“We generally give a scholarship to the wheelchair athletes’ organization,” Olsen said. “And then we also fund our Kiwanis scholarship that we give to a graduating high school student.”
For members of the Glen Cove Police Department, the event has become both a fundraiser and a tradition.
“This really was about giving back to the community and helping to support the Kiwanis and help fundraise for them,” Chris Ortiz said.
Many officers return each year after participating previously, Ortiz said, largely because of how much they enjoy the experience.
“It’s very challenging to maneuver the wheelchair, but also to try and play basketball,” he said. “We’re all used to playing basketball vertically. But when you’re in a chair, it’s a lot different.”
The event has also become an opportunity for students and educators to learn more about adaptive sports and inclusion.
“I have a love for helping people in general, students,” Allen Hudson said, recalling his decision to become involved with the tournament.
Hudson said participants quickly realize how difficult wheelchair basketball can be.
“The individuals on the teams are really good at it, and it’s harder than it looks,” he said. “It is very difficult, if you can imagine.”
