Yours truly has been mentioned in Ragged Edge Magazine:
"'People in chairs doing great things' in sport at RALPH RAYMOND's new blog. (01/19/2006)"
That's pretty dang cool. Check it out @ RaggedEdge.
Taken from US Paralympics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The United States Olympic Committee announced the nominees for its 2005 Paralympian of the Year honors Monday. The nominees are the 2005 Athletes of the Year representing their respective sports organizations.
Each year the USOC recognizes the top male and female athletes and the top team as selected by their respective member organizations. The names of the athletes and teams are placed on ballots used to select the USOC Paralympian (individual athlete or team) of the Year. Members of the USOC Board of Directors along with representatives of the national media participate in the voting to select the award winners. The winners will be announced in February. (read more)
News from the US Disabled Sailing Team
Well the 2006 Worlds in Perth are over, with the prize giving set for Thursday,Australia Day, here in OZ. With a 12:30 starting time posted by the RC in order to get in 3 races on the final day, lots of energy was buzzing at the club early. Unfortunately, both fleets went out on course to be met by a dying breeze. After a lengthy delay, the Freemantle Doctor decided to show, and 3 good races were held in builing southwesterly winds.
Racing was close, and by late afternoon, the World Champions were decided.On the Sonar course, the British squad led by John Robertson showed their talents, by taking the crown for a second time in a 7 month period. Their consistency around the course all week, topped off by a win in the final race made them undisputedly the best Sonar team at this event.
Second place overall went to the German team skippered by veteran disabled sailor Jens Kroker. Only one point behind the Germans was the Norweigian boat, with helmsman Jostein Stordall. These team were the very same that graced the podium in Sonderborg, Denmark in August of 2005. Rounding out the top 5 were Jamie Dunross a local sailor from RPYC and Dror Cohen and his goldmedal team from Athens.The American team of Jen French, Brad Johnson, and Brad Kendell came 14th overall, but showed steady improvement through the series, and come away from this event with a lot of invaluable experience. This was the first big international event for the team, and their skills were tested by a very strong fleet of sailors.
The depth of talent and experience level of teams at this Worlds Championship was deeper than seen at any other past World Championship.The 2006 IFDS Worlds is being used as a country qualifier for the 2008 Paralympic Games in China. Seven countries qualified out of the Sonar fleet: GBR, GER, NOR, AUS, ISR, IRL and CAN. The next and final qualifier will be in Rochester, NY at the 2007 IFDS Worlds.Our 2.4mR sailors had a very good day on the water - posting some nice finishes.
Nick Scandone had a 1-10-2 in the three races to move him up to 5th overall, and Roger Cleworth had three solid races to finish 8th. The podium finishes were not decided until the final race, and in the end, Heiko Kroeger of Germany edged out Britain's Helena Lucas for the Gold, while Bjornar Erkistad, who had been atop the leaderboard going into the day, struggled during the day but held on for the Bronze. The top 5 were rounded out by Bruce Millar from Canada, and Nick Scandone USA.
The top seven countries in the 2.4mR also have now qualified for China: GER, GBR, NOR, CAN, USA, AUS, NZL.Containers are being packed up today for shipment back to the States in time for the DIsabled Midwinters in St Pete, FL March 23-26. If you haven't yet made plans to attend, get on it! Here is a chance to sail against some great competition, and chat with the sailors about their experiences here in Australia.
So its off to the containers, and then we get a chance to experience Australia Day - said to be much like our 4th of July. I guess we'll have to see how it compares!
The United States Paralympic Sailing Team has officially qualified for Beijing in '08!
Final Results: Scores
Hoveround vs. New Zealand-31-30
Tampa vs. Magee-35-29
Texas vs. Canada-32-36
Great Britain vs. Phoenix-34-36
Final Results: Places
1st-Phoenix Heat
2nd-Great Britain
3rd-Canada
4th-Texas Stampede
5th-Hoveround Gunners
6th-New Zealand
7th -Tampa Generals
8th-Magee Eagles
News from Hugh Elliot
Jen French and Team SailLaVie (US) sailed a very strong first beat in the first race of the day, but an unfortunate rounding incident at the first mark forced a two turns penalty, dropping them back to the back of the fleet for a 13th. In the second race, they again had a very good first beat and run, but they worked too far to the right on the subsequent beats due to a seating system problem which affected their ability to tack, and they could only salvage an 11th place finish.
The Canadians had a strong day with a 4-5 across the line, but a DSQ in the first race of the day, dropped them back a bit in the scoring. At the top of the leader board, Norway and Germany had a great day and sit atop the fleet tied in points. The British had a mediocre day for their team, to drop them back slightly in the standings. With 4 more races to go, anything can happen.
On the 2.rmR course, Nick Scandone(US)finally found his groove in Race 6 to take the gun and the win. He was involved in a starting line protest with Helena Lucas of GBR who was DSQ'd from the race, and lost the series lead. The second 2.4mR start was apparantly one in which very few of the 19 boats could actually start on starboard. Nick got flushed on that one and couldn't get back in the fleet. Roger Cleworth had two mid fleet finishes, and he and Nick now stand tied in points.
News from Betsy Alison, U.S. Disabled Sailing Team Coach
"Unfortunately for US Team SailLaVie, the past few days have beenfrustrating. After a slow start in the first race, the team came back to a 9th in race 2 - only to have that taken away by the jury in a marathon 2 ½ hour protest. Day 2 did not start much better for Jen, Brad and Brad. A poor start put the team behind from the getgo, and they found themselves behind early on a one sided course with no real clear air lanes to work back from.
The day ended on a high note though, when an aggressive start by Jen at the pin allowed them to get an early jump to the left, and leg out a bit with the Germans and local Aussie, Jamie Dunross. We held onto third for the better part of 3 legs, but let 3 teams get slightly to the left, and finished the race in 6th.
After a lay day on Saturday, where local wind conditions climbed into the high 30 knot range, boats were back on course but this time in ESE breeze in the morning. Though wind velocity was only in the 10-12 knot range with some puffs, the course was set with a strong port side bias with the pin favored.You had to get left, and sail the larger breeze lines on port,taking small tacks back on starboard if you could.
The top mark was under a high hill, which made it shifty and unpredictable at the topin very light winds. The Canadians led at the first mark, but dropped back to 6th over time in those fluky winds at the top. The Americans rounded mid fleet at the first mark, but went low on thefirst run on a three lap course and were never able to recover."
I really hope they do better, it would be a shame to go all the way there and come back empty handed in the Medals.
Pictures and Content are the copyright property of Ray Paprota and used with full permission.
Stats:
- D.O.B: May 13, 1962
- Lives: Birmingham, Ala
- SCI: T 10 Paraplegia from a MVA on May 7, 1984
Ray Paprota is a driver in the "International Sport Compact Auto Racing Series", forget the fact that he is in a chair, this guys wheels are V6 powered. He is the first and only paraplegic driver to compete in a NASCAR Touring Series.
"Ray is an accomplished wheelchair athlete. He has represented the USA in international competition and has competed in power lifting, wheelchair tennis and most recently was a member of the 2002 Wheelchair Basketball National Championship Team. Ray relocated from NJ to Birmingham, AL in 1993 to train full time with the Lakeshore Foundation in hopes of making the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games. A torn rotator cuff just weeks before tryouts sideline that dream but opened up a door in a new direction."(read more)
This guy rocks, check out his site here.
I will get an interview asap.
/
Saturday's results from the tournament are in and the break down is this...Great Britain vs. Phoenix for 1st and 2nd. Texas vs. Canada for 3rd and 4th. Hoveround vs. New Zealand for 5th and 6th, with Tampa or Magee as the last place team.
The 2006 tournament wraps up today, the home team Tampa Generals lost both of their first round matches. The Texas Stampede beat them 38-27, and New Zealand won 36-33. Tampa lost it's third match to Phoenix in a low scoring 26-13 game. Great Britain is the only undefeated team, with wins over Magee, Canada and Team Hoveround. I will post the tournaments winners when the scores are available
Michael Jeremiasz (FR), and Florence Gravellier (FR) were the winners of the 2005 ITF Players choice award.
Photo by Rollingpix taken at the 2005 NASDAQ 100 Open.
This is one heck of a oool blogging tool. Blogflux mapstats uses Google Earth to map where your visitors are coming from. You can get it here.
Team Sail La Vie is made up of Jennifer French, Jean - Paul Creignou and Brad Kendall. They are three disabled salors from my home state of Florida that are competing for the 2006 World Disabled Sailing Championship in Perth, Australia.
- Jennifer French Bio
- Jean - Paul's Bio
- Brad Kendall's Bio
They recently took second place at the Sailing World St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta, 3rd at the SPYC Summer Twilight Series and 4th at the Disabled/Open America's Regatta which is a paralympic qualifier.
There has never been a "all Floridian" team compete at the elite level and I wish them the best
Check out their site.
Today was practice Day at The IFDS Worlds. The winds were 12 - 18 knots with a few self tacking puffs thrown in for good measure. The race was held at 2 pm. The RC set the starting line at somewhere around 360 feet. It ws difficult to see the pin and for twenty boats that made it very difficult to judge the line. There were only two boats over however. The pin was favored but only one person had the guts to go out to an edge on an extremely shifty day. The shifts were as high as 30 degrees and fairly frequent.
The closest boat to the pin, GBR, started halfway down on the pin side and about 5 boats below the line but stretched out to a great lead early on. Roger and Nick started close to midway and battled different sides of the course. The competition was tight and both finished in the top 5. There is a cyclone in North Australia which is effecting our weather patterns. The winds still promise to blow and possibly increase by the end of the week.
Australia 1/16/06 Today is the first day of official measuring. Gene Hinkle has instructed his help on how to assist him in measuring twenty-two 2.4 meter boats and 16 Sonars. This will be a two day process and will include weighing the boats, keel measurement, hull measurement and sail measurement. On Wednesday there will be a practice race and the first official day of racing is Thursday.Sailors who need to be classified as disabled will be looked at today by the Classification team.
This site is hilarious! It is a store with gear for all kinds of gimps. One of their t-shirts had on the back of it. "If you can see this, please put me back in my chair." That's great stuff.
Check out their site.
I have been signing up at every w/c - disabled sports sites and forums that I can find. There are so many people in chairs doing great things, I want to get to know them all. Sending e-mails, signing up for affiliate programs, phone calls, getting insurance for my new camera...it never ends. The Paralympics are right around the corner, International disabled sailing championships are this month in Oz. Rolex Miami OCR Regatta is in a few days. Quad Rugby tournaments in Florida and Wheelchair Tennis is all starting soon. It's going to be a great year. If you know of an event leave a message.
If you are interested in disabled sailing here is the group for you to join.
Many thanks to my readers in Leicester, England. Vancouver, Canada. Wellington, NZ and London. If there is anything you care to read about just leave a comment.
I have been waiting for weeks to get this interview. If you read my blog than you know who Mike Rowney is. If not he is a paraplegic attemptig to be be the first para to single-hand sail around Australia...for Charity. All pictures come from his website and were either taken by him or for him. (read more)
Here is the interview he did for me via e-mail
Ralph: Hi there Mike, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. What's the news with the "Challenge?"
Mike: Hi Ralph, not a prob. What's new? It's a waiting game at present, but I am using the break constructively, did some repair work on a local Sailability boat. Training as in swimming everyday and doing a little weight work, as I wasn't very fit when I left due to the work load building my boat, had to give the pool and gym away 6 months before I took off, and the fitter and lighter you are as a para the easier it is. As of lately working ahead of myself, again a task I had to forgo before I left.
Ralph: What is it about sailing that you love most, and how did you get started?
Mike: I began with a sheet of corrugated iron, used for roofing, bent in two. I joined each end with wood and nails and tar that I scrounged off the road workers back in South Africa in the 60's. We flattened out the bottom, put a wooden beam down the middle and made a mast out of bamboo, sails out of wheat bags from the local bakery and painted with enamel paint...Real Huck Finn stuff.
We as kids had great fun every weekend, sailing up and down the localabout river. We constanly had to hide the boat from our elder brothers and bigger boys.
My next step was watching "The Dove," Robin Lee Graham, a 16 year old American boy that sailed around the world. From there I progressed to "South Sea Adventures," which was a book in the school library. In 1987 I progressed from dreaming to reality. I was stuck on the Greek island of Rhodes waitin for a ferry to Haifa, Israel, where I was planning to work on a kibbutz and escaping the European cold.
I got the chance to work for a delivery skipper, sailing and delivering bareboat yachts around the med. It was a trial by fire. I was green and we sailed in all weather. My skipper was good and I was keen to learn. At the end of the charter season, I got pushed into skippering my first delivery with my girlfriend at the time as my "deck hand." Very nerve wracking but it was the best thing. After that, I got my first license and the next year I was back in the Mediterranean doing my own boat deliveries.
What turns me on? The freedom, the test and the chance to live out my childhood dreams.
Ralph: Sailing around Australia is a huge undertaking, ther is 25,760 kms (15,000 plus miles) of coastline alone. What got your sails full with this idea?
Mike: It's hard to get an exact distance around due to the coastline - best estimate so far is 11,500 sea miles. Doing that sail in 2002 up to Darwin as crew got my head going, but I would say it was a combination of paraplegic Vinny Louwers (who comes from Melbourne, Austrailia) and the fact that in 2002 I circumnavigated the world (non stop).
I was in my first year of paraplegia and full of desire to regain my pride and prove to myself that I could. I must say now, over three years into the project, my main motivation is the kids, not too fussy about proving anything.
Ralph: Tell me about your boat and the modifications you have made to allow you to sail independently. How long did that take?
Mike: After a year of looking, I found my boat. I knew because of my prior sailing life exactly what vessel I wanted and I finally found it. During this search I decided to get the Harrington rods removed from my spine - reason being was that I felt if I took a bad spill backwards on the trip, I could diplace them and be in big trouble. Painful, but worth it.
I am glad I did it because my back gained more mobility and was much more comfortable. I found Gypsy Rose sitting lonely on a mooring in the Swan River in Perth, Australia which was where I live so I was lucky all round. Australia is huge and it would have cost me to ship the boat.
The Gypsy Rose is a 26 foot international folk boat, a Swedish design with a long history. First designed in 1939; first big acclaim was coming in second in the first Trans Atlantic race in 1967. For a small craft it has alot of histroy and is well proven. She is a long keel design with an encapsulated keel - cast iron placed within the vessel and glassed in. This means no bolts and for me, takes away the worry of lowering my keel.
Along the west coast of Australia, lobster fishing is a big industry. There are lots of ropes and floats and my idea was that they would flow under and out the back instead of catching my keel and prop. My estimate was spot on. Many a time I listened to the bump, bump of floats against my hull and watched with relief as they popped out the back.
Money was a big factor. I used some cash that the yatching community in Rhode Island, along with a wealthy Greek friend, had donated to me after my fall - to be used, as they stated, "to buy a car and furniture and a good telly" - as they realized I was broke after my fall having "like a fool" taken out no insurance when I went back to Greece in 2000.
I figured that buying a boat was better than a car and a telly. I think they expected that anyhow when they sent it. As I couldn't afford a large vessel and knowing that I wouldn't want to do it in any other boat as space is an issue. Being a para, the smaller the area to move in the better. "It's only the meek that think so" quite wrongly, that you need a large vessel at sea to be safe - the difference is comfort, storage space, a real toilet and a shower. When trying to make windward, a bigger engine. With long distance cruising, if you haven't got horse power at times when you heading into the wind it will drain you if you only have your sails to depend on.
What I have to do is duck and weave if I am sailing to windward and I don't have horsepower so I sharpen my act up and watch the weather windows like a hawk, moving as soon as I get a break and sitting on anchor or on a jetty if I can in bad weather. Hence the slowness of my trip. I can't, and don't want to "muck up". I have no shore crew as such and apart from good people I meet along the way who help out, I really am on my own.
The main adaptations were making the outside cockpit area all on level by putting foam covered panels over the walkway. To get below I made up a chair, foam covered and a bar that I placed across the companion way leading down into the boat. Down below I again with foam covered panels created one level. To get up I reach up grab the bar, lift into the intermediate chair, and then again a lift up to the cockpit area outside and vice versa.
I use the "kiss theory" (keep it simple stupid) trying to get technical means more hassle in the long run. This, of course, works better while you are sitting in port and harder when you are on your ear. I drag myself inside with teak bars I put into the roof. My toilet in good weather, is my climbing harness suspended over the side (the low side) by a halyard from the mast. A real bidet - as a para this is not easy but in good weather it's nice and clear and ther is no rush in bad weather. It's down below, right up front with a cut down commode and a bucket - Primitive, but it works.
Under the panels inside in the walkway, I have a 200 litre water bladder and I used a simple manual pump to get the water out. In the back locker I have two 50 litre fuel bladders. My max fuel carrying capacity is 150 litres. Sounds like a lot, but on one leg I had to account for 800 miles of no fuel stops in tidal country, 12 meter tides - very savage and my little 8 horsepower inboard engine was working very hard keeping my out of trouble.
At times your totally under the mercy of the current. The best edition I made was my fighter pilot cockpit bubble. The picture you put on my side shows me working the begginigs of it. This gives me pretty much all round visibility, and most of all dry. This sits over the companionway (entrance into the boat) and all my ropes and lines are fed into this area, enabling me to drive the boat in relevant shelter and comfort.
What you must realize is that in a 26 foot boat I have about 3 feet of freeboard. This is the distance between the water and the deck. In bad weather I can sit down below and on my low side watch the water sliding past my window. In short it's a wet board and my bubble keeps me dry and sane. The big adaptations were running all of the gear back to the cockpit so I could raise, lower and/or reduce, and increase my sails from the cockpit area. I also with the help of a friend, designed a system whereby I can drop and or raise my anchor from my cockpit (no electric, all manual).
All these changes and the strengthening of many areas of the boat took me 15 months of non-stop work, with lots of help from good people who pitched in and/or sponsored me with equipment and of course the local Royal Perth Yacht Club who made me an honorary member for the duration on my trip and helped out with cranes and berthing space and cradles. You will see from my website that I have over 30 sponsors and am constantly adding more. I started this on a shoe string and depended on people believing in what I am doing and supporting me in that endeavor.
Ralph: Have you had any mechanical problems while sailing that you could't fix, any problems at all?
Mike: Engine problems: Lost my starter motor going into a very tidal 13 mile passage to get to a town and the Yacht Club Commodore came out to get me - towed me in with his boat. Lots of oil problems until I got up into the Kimberley region of W.A. - very wild place, where I pulled into Sygnet Bay Pearl Farm.
I worked there as a skipper for a number of years before my accident. They kindly rebuilt my engine and the whole crew worked for a day without pay and donated that to Wheelchairs - 30 people created 45 chairs - That's the Kimberley people for you. During a real bad section, 450 miles in bad weather, my two self steering systems - one being electric and one mechanical (on the Fleming a vane broke and the weather didn't allow me to get up and fix it as I was taking waves over the backend where the vane was situated).
The electrical backup auto pilot also decided to die. The way I have the boat set up, I need to be able to use a self steer in order to be free to operate all the control lines. There is no option with this, except to take a crew on. In big winds I found myself stuck on the helm by myself. I tried to lash the helm and ease the sheets, as I did this my lashing came away and the boat Gibed in 30+ knots, got tossed like a salad, but mainly had a heart stop due to how close I came to maybe losing my mast from the gibe, or breaking some gear.
I finally resolved this situation by creating a self steer with a combination of ropes and blocks. I steered for two days with two lines I had run into my nest down below, so I stayed dry and could adjust my control lines.......and SLEEP.
Ralph: Have you done any competitive sailing since the "chair"? The technology really allows us a equal competitiveness now.
Mike: To be honest Ralph I am a "passage maker" not a racer. I have done a little racing, but I prefer the challenge of the open sea. I am a cranky bugger and not a very good team player. Better I sail alone, only the seagulls have to listen to listen to my bitching. It's a comparison that's similar to an indoor rock climber and a mountaineer.In saying all that I admire and respect the sailing skill involved in competition sailing.
Ralph: What are your plans with the charity you are helping? Do you have others you are working with?
Mike: I am stuck on this one, firstly it's a completely volunteer set up. All donations go directly into buying the materials to build the chairs, all the costs such as rent for the workshop and admin are covered by the Rotary Club and Christian Brothers, over 70 volunteers go through the workshop 4 times per week. They are producing 250 chairs per month. The chairs are designed for children and get distributed in 52 countries free of charge, and given to kids who have no chair and no way of accessing one.
My plans? Finish this trip, get as many kids a chair as I can, and I well may get sponsorship from an airline and distribute some chairs myself. Recently I made contact with some disabled Phillipinoes making handsicrafts to make ends meet. So maybe I will head there after my sail. I need to get on with my own life, and find something to bring some cash in, this trip has cleared me out.
Ralph: What are your other interests?
Mike: Freedom and the ocean. I used to fish, commercially for a number of years, now I just look. I swim and free dive alot.
Ralph: What would you say to a disabled person that wanted to do something like what you are doing?
Mike: Make sure you are genuinely passionate about doing it, don't even try otherwise. It has to be a passion. Don't do it for anything else. Or anybody else, because way out to sea all alone and Mother Nature turns it on, it's only passion that will see you through.
Don't think it's easy, or that you won't be scared. Realise before you let those ropes off the dock and your way off shore that you can't just say "I have had enough." and get off the bus. You must be sure you can keep your cool at least till you reach port, or a safe anchorage.
If you feel you may lose it don't let the ropes go. If you love the ocean, the freedom, the fear and the adrenalin rush,love that feeling of "yes I made it," and look back at the miles and the experience with pride...then why not. Skeptics will be lurking, waiting for a chance to shoot you down, especially because your disabled. Don't even waste a second on these people, they are just voicing their own fears.
Ralph: Thanks again for doing this, and keep me updated. I look forward to the finish.
Mike: No worries Ralph. Don't leave yourself out of the equation brother, your out there doing it, and I admire you for that. It's all relevant. Do what you can, and use what ability we have been left with to the max. There are alot of disabled people out there all smashed up just waiting. THEY NEED HOPE.
I am so proud of this interview, and if you like it leave a comment, and please check out the AroundAustraliaChallenge website.
This is a great online mag, covering a wide range of "dis"abled topics"
Check them out here, or I have added them in the right sidebar.
Jesse Billauer is a quadriplegic, college graduate, foundation starter, motivational speaker...and surfer. His foundation, Liferollson.org says this, "Life Rolls On is a non-profit 501(c)3 Foundation that exists to be a grassroots resource and an advocate on behalf of young people who have sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI)."
His story is one of succeeding against great odds, a spinal cord injury in October 1995 put him in a chair, but couldn't keep him out of the water he loves so much. He has graduated college with a degree in communications, was the first quad to surf the great breaks of Tavarua and Pipeline, and hasn't missed a Pipeline Masters since he got home from rehab.
One of the foundations programs is TWSA, it stands for "they will surf again." They (LRO) have also had surf sessions, golf tournaments, and charity dinner/auctions.
The prologue of his bio eloquently says this"Jesse has appeared on Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, E1 True American Story, in the feature film Step Into Liquid, and in print outlets such as ESPN the Mag and the LA Times, increasing SCI awareness and driving additional fundraising. He recently embarked on a career as a motivational speaker, sharing his life experiences in the hope that he can impress upon others the fragility of life and the benefits of healthy living. He poses ethical questions in a thought-provoking manner, teaching values and respect for family, friends, strangers, and self."
Good Job Jesse, your one of the many people, and reasons why I started to "Roll On"
This shop has got some truly hilarious stuff. Hats, hoodies, shirts, thongs...all screen printed with funny sayings like "You can't hurt me. I'm paralyzed." Check out his site here
.
- Hong Kong disabled lawn bowlingcompetition.
- U.S. Disabled Alpine ski team wins.
- U.S Sled Hockey team loses .
My new camera came today. I got a Canon 350 D EOS Digital Rebel. I also got a Sigma 28-70 telephoto lens, a Sigma 70-300 telephoto lens, a wide angle-wide angle macro lens, 6 gig Hitachi micro drive, Sunpak bounce flash, 3 piece filter kit and a aluminum hard case.
Click here to check out QuadAntics: an individual quadriplegics sense of humor on T-shirts etc.
I have posted about Tyler twice before, among other things he's a crazy guy, and a wheelchair skateboarder. I got an e-mail from him tonight saying this.
"How are you doing? Tyler here from Canada. My roomate and I are going to take a road trip down to Florida. We will probably leave in the next couple weeks. Anyway, just wondering what your up to and seeing if you want to hang out.
Talk to you soon,
Tyler Deith"
I'm stoked, invited him to crash at my place, gonna be fun.
This is a contest
The new JetStream ProTM from The ROHO® Group revolutionizes the back support market with a full height back that weighs only ounces more than standard upholstery. With its lightweight and stable design, this ultralight back is specifically designed to maximize the performance of any mobility base. Sharp, clean lines combined with cutting edge materials make the JetStream ProTM as appealing to the eye as it is lightweight.
(read more)
- Lots going on in Blind Cricket.
- January's Quad Rugby Calender.
- US Paralympics update.
- Nick Scandone named US Sailing athlete of the year.
They are a small group of chair users. It's a nicely designed site, with a unlimited size upload picture gallery, forums, and links to other users. Check out their site at Chairtalk.
I wrote an interview for Mike Rowney. Joined about 10 Yahoo "dis"abled groups, AND left messages/posts on all of them, saying who I was an all that. Google'd for a while, 8 hours, looking for other folks to profile. I found a few and will put them up down the line. Many thanks to Reston, VA, Thonotossassa FL, and somebody in Portugal, you know who you are.
The ITF has formally announced that Michael Jeremiasz (FRA) and Esther Vergeer (NED) are ITF Wheelchair Tennis World Champions for 2005.Twenty-four-year-old Jeremiasz is champion for the first time, after winning eight singles titles, and 10 doubles titles. Vergeer finishes 2005 as ITF World Champion for the sixth consecutive year and was undefeated in 2005 in singles, winning 16 singles titles and 13 doubles titles.
From Paralympics
From Jan. 3-5, 2006 at Park City Mountain Resort, the National
Ability Center will host the Huntsman Cup. The Huntsman Cup is one of the
nation's leading disabled ski-racing events, bringing together a highly
competitive field of racers from across the country and the world. About 100
competitors are expected to participate and will utilize mono-skis, outriggers
and other adapted equipment as they race for the fastest times in slalom, giant
slalom and super-G events. more...
Cleveland Wheelchairs Cavalier are hosting a 4 team tournament. (Jan '07) Each team is guaranteed at least 2 games on saturday and 1 on sunday.
Rollingpix
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