Cleveland Charge Host Braille Literacy Awareness Night with Special Jerseys and Guest Broadcaster
Greetings, my fellow Local Guides
The Cleveland Charge (G League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers) basketball team recently held Braille Literacy Awareness Night on January 13th, to highlight the importance of braille for the visually impaired community. I was excited to attend the game with my son and proud to be part of an effort to bring awareness and accessibility to an often overlooked segment of sports fans.
Westlake resident Allan Wylie, blind since birth and a talented sports commentator, returned to broadcast the game alongside play by play announcer Scott Zurilla.He uses a braille-based note system and his exceptional memory to cover various local sports and offers fans a unique perspective to game calling.
Special jerseys featuring raised braille for the team crest and player names were created, symbolizing inclusivity and accessibility. Coaches and staff also wore shirts with “Cleveland Charge” in legible braille. Posters and rosters were printed further promoting awareness and inclusivity.
To ensure legibility, New Jersey Sets used puff paint for larger text while Aille Design added specific-sized braille beading. Large sized braille images aren’t able to be read, so the beads make the jerseys fully legible.
The game was rescheduled to 8:00 pm to allow fans to watch both the Cleveland Browns playoff game and the Charge game, without missing any action. The Charge showcased their new state-of-the-art LED screen, promoting both awareness and entertainment. While the Browns and Charge both suffered losses that day, braille awareness night was a huge win.
This event went beyond just a basketball game. It was a platform for empowering individuals with visual impairments, educating the public about braille and fostering a more inclusive community. Wylie’s involvement and the specially designed jerseys were powerful symbols of this organization and its commitment to being accessible to all fans.
@Mikeinthefalls Thank you for tagging me in this great post.I’m glad to hear that you and your son attended this event. It’s great to see the initiative to raise awareness about the importance of braille literacy. I would like to tag my friends @ShailendraOjha@BudiFXW@Tandrima2@JustJake
Glad to see you enjoyed the post @PrasadVR It really was great to see a professional sports team promote accessibility, braille and literacy awareness. I hope that other teams will soon follow their lead!
@Mikeinthefalls informative & awareness post, i appreciate… it’s a wonderful subject of awareness like accessibility for All. firstly I noticed Braille lipi in India when I saw star India (ESPN star sports JV) program time book in Braille lipi nearly 2002 i saved that book in my knowledge bank, whenever open it I will definitely share the pics that book. BTW whenever I visit anywhere i always notice & try to find what facilities are available. (Accessible for all). Thanks for tag me @PrasadVR
Here’s another place in Delhi - a medieval astronomical observatory in India, called the Jantar-Mantar’ where they have installed a metal plate with the full information in Braille:
You and yoour beloved son is very lucky can attendBraille Literacy Awarenness Night and integrated with baasket ball event, the most favorite sport in your country.
I like the photos of Jersey with braille embosed and list of player with braille beading.
Thanks for tagging me @TerryPG . I understand why january is the braille awareness month. I copy the link to the wikipedia article about Louis Braille =inventor of the braille system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille
But be aware that just a few of the blind can read braille and also some type of visually impaired read braille. One of my teachers always used the word braillist instead of blind and visually impaired people. He made a difference between braillists and the others who used magnified prints or magnification gear for reading. Placing info in braille is of course a handy thing if you can read braille: medicine boxes having info in braille on it can be important. But when I must advise a restaurant I always would tell them to make their website accessible for reading impaired or use a readable, big enough fond for printing their menus on paper instead of investing in menus on paper in braille. If you label elevator buttons with braille, this can be helpfull, indeed. But if the blind person doesn’t know there’s a braille label on it, he or she won’t search for it. A blind person only can find something when he or she touches it, we lack the total view of a place.
And sometimes, seeing people are using braille as eye-catcher: I once visited a garden in France and a man of our group saw a metal plaquette with braille on it, so he brought me to that plaquette so that I could read it. Unfortunately, the plaquette was very hot, because it stood in the sun. I nearly burnt my fingers. @ErmesT : perhaps you remember our discussion about this theme.
I’m glad that you enjoyed the post @TusharSuradkar I remembered that you were very active in promoting accessibility, so I thought you’d appreciate the efforts the Cleveland Charge put forth.
It’s very interesting to see the varied places where one can find braille. I would not have guessed it would be located on a rapid handle but it makes a great bit of sense! I was very impressed with your addition of homemade braille floor markers in your building elevator - nice work.
Glad you enjoyed the post @TerryPG Chase and I had a great time at the game. We were very impressed with the attention to detail. They could have simply printed jerseys with visual braille lettering, but they went the extra mile and added beading to make it legible to those who’d read it. We were definitely glad to be a part of it.
I’m glad you liked the post @BudiFXW The player roster in braille was one of my favorite pieces from the evening, as well!
We’re are fans of basketball, as well. I coached my son for a number of years when he was younger and his team won a city championship around 10 years ago. We have season tickets to the Cleveland Cavaliers so we attend a lot of NBA games. But this event was something special for us, a unique night that helped bring inclusivity to those with visual impairments. Thanks again for checking out my post.
I’m so glad to read that you enjoyed my post @Tandrima2 Yes, my son and I enjoyed attending such a unique game! I hope this is something they do again, in the coming seasons. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment
Yes @KattyGeltmeyer it can certainly catch a sighted person’s attention when one is reading braille. As one who works with his hands professionally, I tend to think that I have a pretty good feel for things. But the speed with which a person trained to read can process the braille language is amazing.
I was pleasantly surprised that a professional sports team would dedicate a night to raising awareness for something that isn’t new or trendy. They made a huge stride in advancing community awareness and making the game accessible to an underserved population.
for participating in this unique event.