These athletes won’t receive a lot of attention, other than maybe a mention or two in local media markets. That’s okay. While they might wish their sports captured more attention like professional sporting events or even the Olympics, they’re just satisfied that they can still compete.
This week, in Tampa, Fla. and Rochester, Minn., two groups of athletes will compete for all the glory, honor and satisfaction of knowing they remain at the top of their game, the best of the best. They’ll do so competing with one difference from most athletes — they’re disabled.
From July 13-18, Tampa plays host to the 33rd edition of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, an event for military-service veterans who use wheelchairs due to spinal cord injuries, amputations, or certain neurological problems to compete in various sporting events. Sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Paralyzed Veterans of America, the games allow disabled veterans to improve both their quality of life and their health.
Likewise in Rochester, where the National Junior Disability Championships (NJDC) are taking place from July 6-13. (And here, I must make a disclaimer: my 17-year-old stepson is one of the athletes participating for I think his ninth year.So far, he’s achieved first place in two swimming events and a third in archery.) Open to physically disabled athletes from ages seven to 21, the NJDC games are an Olympic-style competition and have produced several paralympic athletes through an affiliation with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Watching these athletes train or compete serves as inspiration to us all that we can’t let the curves that life throws us stand in the way of achieving our goals.
And that’s life at turtle speed.
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