Athlete games and events of competition or exhibition for
those in wheelchairs is now in its 24th year. These National
Veterans Wheelchair Games grew out of an historic wheelchair
sports involvement of the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs. Sports with participants in wheelchairs started
when the Second World War ended, when veterans young and
disabled started to play basketball in their wheelchairs
while they recovered in VA hospitals all over the country.
Sports in wheelchairs soon went beyond basketball to track
and field, swimming, archery, and bowling. A number of
associations for wheelchair sports sprouted.
Now veterans in wheelchairs participate in competition and
exhibitions in air guns, archery, basketball, weightlifting,
bowling, nine ball, motorized rallies, exhibition power
relay and trap shooting, quad rugby, two slaloms, power
chair 220 (one division for hand controls, one for head and
mouth control), softball, hand cycling, swimming, track and
table tennis. Veterans with disabilities including paralysis
continued to use their wheelchairs to participate in sport
in increasing numbers. In 1980, finally, the Veterans
Administration set up its recreation therapy services, which
focused on making people aware of how wheelchair athletics
helped rehabilitation. Now therapists at the VA use
wheelchair sports as a tool for therapeutic treatment of
these disabled veterans.
To compete in any of these sports with their wheelchairs,
these athletes have to qualify and be placed competitively
with others whose disability degrees are similar. Each is
given a medical exam for this purpose. Three quadriplegic
classifications emerge, as well as four paraplegic
classifications. Amputees get divided up by the degree of
their amputation. Victims of stroke, multiple sclerosis and
other such disabilities are also classified according to
their impairment level. 1981 debuted the National Veterans
Wheelchair Games. The year became known as the
"International Year of Disabled Persons. The first event
took place in Richmond Virginia at the city's VA medical
center. 74 disabled veterans brought their wheelchairs from
14 states to compete in such sports as billiards, table
tennis, weightlifting and swimming. What this initiated
among those who participated was the strength of camaraderie
and having something in common. Hundreds of disabled
veterans now compete in the Games every year.
By 1985 the wheelchair games had grown in size drastically,
becoming more complex and taxing the resources of the
medical centers that hosted them. To help assuage this
problem the Paralyzed Veterans of America became the sponsor
of these wheelchair games. Money was needed and so the PVA
when to various corporations asking them to also co sponsor
the event. Since that time these sponsorships have helped
grow the games, with more competitors as well as more sports
variety. British disabled military veterans joined the games
in 1987 and participate each year. From this sprang up a new
association, the British Ex-Services Wheelchair Sports
Association. It now hosts International games for veterans
in wheelchairs and has had competition in the UK in 1994,
1996 and 1999.
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games has turned into the
largest sports event for wheelchairs held annually anywhere
on the globe. More than 500 wheelchair-bound veterans come
from 46 states to take part. They come from Puerto Rico and
the UK as well. St. Louis Missouri hosted the games in 2004,
Minneapolis Minnesota in 2005 and Anchorage Alaska will host
this year. As part of the 2006 games competition organizers
seek 2000 or more volunteers. These helpers will help with
transportation and meals, set up the sites of the games,
keep score and times, take pictures and hand out water. If
interested in volunteering for the games July 3rd through
8th you can apply online. Both the Veterans Administration
and the PVA stay committed to these wheelchair games and
their rehabilitating effect on our disabled veterans.
Val Towley is the webmaster of Wheelchairs Net which is an excellent place to find wheelchairs links, resources and articles.
For more information on this article, please visit: http://www.wheelchairsnet.com/
|
