Can a quadriplegic woman
sail solo across the English Channel? Can a woman in a wheelchair
be a hockey player? In both cases, the answer is a resounding
yes.
Jen Onsum and Hilary Lister are great examples of women with disabilities
choosing to stay active in competitive and recreational sports. Historically,
women generally have lagged behind men in the area of athletics. This
disparity is even more pronounced between men and women with disabilities.
According to the Women’s
Sports Foundation, disabled women are not getting as many opportunities
as men are in all levels of sport. In 2002 the International Wheelchair
Federation reported that only 12 percent of all wheelchair basketball
players in the world were female. International Paralympic Committee
statistics show that less than one-third of all athletes participating
in the 2004 games in Athens were women. This was up from a mere
23 percent in the 1992 games in Barcelona. But it still illustrates
the significant gap between disabled men and women athletes.
When Hilary Lister was
a child she aspired to become a biochemist. She was an active child
who participated in many sports in school in England. Lister’s
plans changed when in her 20s she was diagnosed with a rare disorder
called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. The muscle-wasting disease
left her a quadriplegic, only able to move her head, eyes and mouth.
Lister was housebound
for four long years. On her web site, she describes those years
as her darkest days. When a friend convinced her to go sailing
with him in 2003, Lister’s life was transformed. She
instantly fell in love with the sport and felt a life-altering sense
of freedom. She described sailing as being “the nearest thing
to flying.”
Tired of always being a passenger, Lister was determined to devise
a way to sail independently. A chance encounter with a famous sailor
at a London boat show brought her dream of a solo sail closer to reality.
She secured a sponsor to design a boat that she could operate herself.
By puffing air into two straws, she was able to steer the boat and
control the sail.
Lister then set her
sights even higher. Her next goal was to sail solo across the English
Channel. In August of 2005, with a support boat following a half
mile behind, she accomplished this goal and became the first quadriplegic
to cross the English Channel solo. In 2007, Lister pushed herself
further, setting another record by becoming the first female quadriplegic
to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight—a
distance more than twice that of the English Channel.
This summer, 36-year-old
Lister faces her biggest challenge to date. On June 16 she set
out on what will be a three-month journey around Britain. If all
goes according to plan she will be sailing every day, stopping
to rest at various ports around the British Isles. About her amazing
sailing accomplishments, Lister says, “It’s
about showing that anyone can live an active life.”
St. Paul athlete Jen
Onsum, 27, is also leading an active, sport-filled life. Onsum,
who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, has been playing Power-Hockey
since the Minnesota PowerHockey League was formed in 1997. She
describes PowerHockey as being very similar to ice hockey: “We have simply
replaced the ice with a gym floor and the puck with a wiffle ball.
Our skates are our wheels.” She adds that “the determination,
competitiveness and intensity are just as strong [as in ice hockey].”
Onsum began playing adaptive sports in middle school, seeing it as
a great opportunity to be an athlete like her able-bodied peers. With
her limited upper body strength, she found her niche in defense and
has been voted MN PowerHockey Defender of the Year four times. PowerHockey
is a predominantly male sport; Onsum is one of fewer than 10 females
playing in Minnesota.
When asked what she
likes best about competitive sports, Onsum said that she loves
the adrenaline and the rush of playing. “I love
playing as rough and tough as the guys and showing them that girls
can kick some butt, too,” she said. The Women’s Sports
Foundation asserts that women and girls with disabilities need to
be given the same encouragement as their male counterparts in the
area of athletics. Involvement in sports has obvious health benefits
but can also raise self-esteem and improve body image in girls.
In the case of Hilary
Lister, the recreational sport of sailing gives her a sense of
freedom and puts her on equal footing with other sailors. She says, “If I’m on the water, I’m
as able as the person in the boat next to me.”
Jen Onsum sums up the
benefits of competitive sports: “Playing
sports teaches people to have greater self-confidence, to be more out-going
and how to really be a ‘team’ player, all of which can
benefit you in all aspects of life.”![end of story]()
To follow Hilary Lister’s
journey around Britain, visit: www.hilarylister.com. For more info
on MN Power Hockey: www.powerhockey.com/minnesota
