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Paralyzed
Veterans get 'Ready to Roll' at the National
Veterans Wheelchair Games
WASHINGTON, July 1
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 600
veterans with disabilities have signed-up to
compete in the National Veterans Wheelchair
Games, taking place July 13-18, 2009,
in Spokane, WA.
Now in its 29th year, the event has grown to
become the largest annual wheelchair sports
event in the world. This year's competitors
come from 42 states, Puerto Rico
and Great Britain.
"The National Veterans Wheelchair Games are
sports and rehabilitation at their best for
our brave heroes," said Randy L.
Pleva, Sr., national president of
Paralyzed Veterans of America.
"From quad rugby to handcycling, power
soccer to wheelchair slalom, the Games are
an exciting combination of competition,
camaraderie and courage."
The Wheelchair Games, co-presented each year
by Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed
Veterans) and the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), are open to all U.S. military
veterans who use wheelchairs for sports
competition due to spinal cord injuries,
certain neurological conditions,
amputations, traumatic brain injuries or
other mobility impairments and who receive
care at VA medical facilities or military
treatment centers.
The Northwest Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans
and the Spokane VA Medical Center are
hosting the 2009 Games.
Sports are an important aspect of the
therapy programs used to treat many
disabilities. For many injured veterans, the
National Veterans Wheelchair Games provide
their first exposure to wheelchair
athletics.
At the Games, veterans will compete in 17
different sports: air guns, archery,
basketball, bowling, field, handcycling,
nine ball, a motorized wheelchair relay,
power soccer, quad rugby, softball,
swimming, table tennis, track, trapshooting,
weightlifting and wheelchair slalom.
For the third year, stand-up events will be
held in archery and table tennis for
athletes who have amputations and choose to
compete using prosthetic devices instead of
their wheelchairs. A golf clinic will also
be held as an exhibition sport this year.
The 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games
begin July 13 with a
wheelchair basketball demonstration outside
the Spokane
Convention Center, as well as the 2009
Disabled Sports, Recreation and Fitness
Expo.
Kids Day at the Games takes place
July 17 at Spokane Falls
Community College, where local
children with disabilities will meet the
athletes and learn about wheelchair sports.
Track and field events, softball and archery
will also take place at the college.
This year's opening ceremonies will be held
at Veterans Memorial Arena in
Spokane, while closing ceremonies
are at the Spokane
Convention Center, where many of the week's
competitive events will take place.
A special block party for the athletes and
their guests will be held on July 15
at C.I. Shenanigans on the Spokane river
front.
Other events will be held at Lilac Lanes,
North Bowl, Esmeralda Golf Course, Whitworth
University, the Spokane Gun Club and other
area venues.
Admission is free to the public, and the
community is encouraged to attend.
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games is
made possible in part through the generous
support of the following lead sponsors:
National Host: Invacare Corporation;
Local Host: Veterans Canteen Service;
Sustaining Host: UPS Foundation;
National: The Budin Family, The
DeGasperis Family Foundation, Health Net
Federal Services, Inc., HP, Johnson &
Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc., Spokane
Transit Authority, Sprint, The ROHO Group,
TriWest Healthcare Alliance and Xerox
Foundation.
The theme for this year's event is "Rollin'
on the River," and the veterans attending
the Games in Spokane
are ready to do just that.
For
more information about the National Veterans
Wheelchair Games, or to follow event results
as they happen, visit the Games Web site at:
http://www.wheelchairgames.va.gov.
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Sixty-three years ago, Paralyzed Veterans of
America was founded by a band of spinal cord
injured service members who returned home
from World War II to a grateful nation, but
also to a world with few solutions to the
challenges they faced.
These veterans from the "Greatest
Generation" made a decision not just to
live, but to live with dignity as
contributors to society.
They created an organization dedicated to
veterans' service, medical research and
civil rights for people with disabilities.
And for more than six decades, Paralyzed
Veterans of America and its 34 chapters have
been working to create an America where all
veterans and people with disabilities, and
their families, have everything they need to
thrive. (www.pva.org)
.
About VA:
The Department of Veterans Affairs is a world leader in rehabilitation,
with recreations therapy programs at each of
its medical facilities.
VA's goal is to provide excellence in patient care, veterans' benefits
and customer satisfaction.
VA employees continue to offer their dedication and commitment to help
veterans get the services they have earned.
To learn about VA and programs for veterans,
visit VA's Web site at
www.va.gov.
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