Twin Cities to Host Largest Annual
Wheelchair Sporting Event - 2,500 Volunteers Are Needed
by Lance H. Hegland
The Twin Cities will attract more than 500 athletes this summer during
the 25th National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG), the largest annual
wheelchair sporting event in the world. Game competitors are all military
service veterans who use wheelchairs as a result of spinal cord injuries,
amputations, or neurological problems. The Games this year will be
hosted by the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and the Minnesota Chapter
of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The event is presented each year
by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Paralyzed Veterans
of America (PVA). Numerous community and corporate sponsors also support
the event.
Wheelchair sports trace back to World War II, when young disabled
veterans began playing wheelchair basketball in VA hospitals throughout
the United States. Interest soon spread to other sports such as track
and field, bowling, swimming, and archery.
Although athletic competition among veterans with disabilities continued
to flourish, it was not until 1980, when VA established a Recreation
Therapy Service, that their efforts brought about an enhanced awareness
of the rehabilitative value of wheelchair athletics.
The first National Veterans
Wheelchair Games were held in 1981, the "International
Year of Disabled Persons," at the VA Medical Center in Richmond,
Virginia. That year, 74 veterans from 14 states competed in sports
ranging from table tennis and billiards, to swimming and weightlifting.
Those first Games established an enduring trait that has characterized
the event ever since - a strong sense of common identity and camaraderie
among the participants.
By 1985, the growth and complexity of the Games, plus the resources
needed, presented a daunting challenge to VA medical centers hosting
the program. Recognizing that most of the athletes were paralyzed veterans,
PVA offered to become a co-sponsor. To help obtain additional resources,
PVA recruited corporations to join in support of the Games. Since 1985,
PVA's corporate sponsor program has helped the Games grow, both in
number of competitors and the variety of sports offered.
In 1987, twelve British military veterans received invitations to
participate in the Games; a team from Great Britain has come every
year since. After that first year, the British athletes formed a new
sports group for veterans with disabilities - The British Ex-Services
Wheelchair Sports Association. This group extended the philosophy behind
the National Veterans Wheelchair Games to the rest of the world, hosting
International Veterans Wheelchair Games in Great Britain during 1994,
1996, and 1999.
Over the past 25 years, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games has
become the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world. During
the 2004 Games, 518 athletes from 44 states, Puerto Rico, and Great
Britain came to compete in St. Louis, Missouri.
This year, the Games will feature competitions in swimming, table
tennis, weightlifting, archery, air guns, basketball, softball, quad
rugby, bowling, handcycling, wheelchair slalom, power soccer, 9-ball,
track and field, plus a motorized wheelchair rally. The track events
will include 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 5000-meter races, in addition
to a special 220-meter race for power wheelchairs. The field events
include competitions in shot put, discus and javelin, as well as the
club throw, designed for quadriplegic athletes. Exhibition events include:
trap shooting, golf, and a power wheelchair. Athletes will compete
in each event against others of the same gender with similar athletic
ability, competitive experience or age.
The Games start Monday, June 27, with registration and an expo at
the Minneapolis Convention Center. Throughout the week, events will
take place at various locations throughout the Twin Cities area, including
the Minneapolis Convention Center, University of Minnesota, Braemar
Golf Course, University of St. Thomas, Brunswick Bowl, Fort Snelling,
Como Park, and Lake Harriet. All events are open to the public free
of charge. During the evening of Friday, July 1, the Games will conclude
with closing ceremonies and a banquet.
Due to the event's large scale, approximately 2,500 volunteers are
needed to help with activities ranging from registration and meals,
to transportation, data management, equipment set-up, timing and scoring
events, among many others. To volunteer, please contact Steve Johnson
with the Minneapolis VA Medical Center by calling (612) 725-2050 or
e-mailing Steve.Johnson2@med.va.gov.
For more information, please
feel free to visit the NVWG website located at www.wheelchairgames.org/.
