Local Athletes Attend World’s Largest Wheelchair Sports Event

Ten wheelchair athletes representing the Houston VA Medical Center’s "Texas Blasters" recently competed in the 22nd National Veterans’ Wheelchair Games in Cleveland, Ohio.

These games are the largest annual wheelchair sports competition in the world, with more than 500 veterans competing in 15 different events, including track and field, basketball, rugby, weightlifting, and the wheelchair slalom.

Co-presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the games are open to all U.S. military veterans who use wheelchairs for sports competition due to spinal cord injuries, neurological illnesses, amputations, or other mobility impairments. Veterans travel to the games from across the United States and Puerto Rico. Twelve guest competitors from Great Britain also participated in this year’s event.

Previous games have produced national and world-class champions, but perhaps more importantly, provide an opportunity for newly disabled veterans to compete athletically and meet other athletes.

"Every year I come to the games, I always meet new people who become friends," disabled Army veteran and Houston VA Medical Center patient David Fowler said. "I look forward to competing against other athletes after a year of practicing my events. If I win medals, it makes the week of competition that much better. If not, the experience of seeing old friends and new ones is just as rewarding."

William Bowie and Meg Bury, both physical therapists at the Houston VA Medical Center, coach the Texas Blasters team. Bowie has been associated with the games for 13 years.

The four days of spirited competition provided numerous benefits to the athletes, including an extension of the VA’s rehabilitation programs, an opportunity to become involved in wheelchair sports, camaraderie with other veterans, and the physical benefits of rigorous athletic competition.

"The wheelchair games have been a great therapeutic tool for me for the past nine years. It keeps me active and healthy," Rebecca Johnson, another wheelchair athlete and VA Medical Center patient, said.

Since 1980, Houston VA Medical Center patients have participated in the National Veterans’ Wheelchair Games.

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/08_15_02/page_18.html