DR Yachting in Athens, Greece is a full service "disabled yachting" company. I have read there whole site and this a small excerpt from the massive list of how much this company has done for people with disabilities to enjoy a top notch sailing vacation in Greece.

"In order to offer the joys of sailing and relaxed and happy vacations to disabled guests, we made the following adjustments to our sailing yachts:
We created a “catwalk” sized 2.5m long and 90cm wide, with 10cm heightened borders (in order to avoid any accidents while a wheelchair is on its way in or out). There is a rail on one side that supports walking persons." (read more)

Here is their site, with many pictures, and the available itineraries.

Everyday I search for interesting stories to post here. There are so many amazing people with disabilities, both men, women, and children that push the standards of "ability' and force new definitions, and perceptions of what that word means.

There are the sailors, Vinny Lauwers, a paraplegic, who sailed around the world by himself. Hilary Lister, the quad that crossed the channel. Mike Rowney, a para that is circling Australia for charity, and Nick Scandone, the third disabled man in 10 years to win the "Open 2.4 metre World Championships.

There are the pushers like Rick Hansen, the Canadian para that pushed 40,000 km's around the world, raising $26 mil. for charity. Vasile Stoica, the Romanian para that pushed around the world. Peter Rieke, who climbed Mts Hood, Shasta and Rainier using only his arm strength.

I have alot of work to do but I will make every effort to show people that "dis" ability is a meaningless, arbitrary term. Everybody needs help sometimes.

Paralinks.net - "The Electronic magazine for people with disabilities. Worlds wheelchair culture. Social and Human interest. Check it out.

Nick Scandone of Fountain Valley, California is among the 9 male nominees for the "2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the year." Among his many accomplishments this year Nick won first place at Open Worlds 2.4 meter championships. He is the third disabled sailor in 10 years to win the Open Worlds, and defeated seven former world champions in the process.

- 2.4 Metre World Championship, Italy (1st/88 boats)
- IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship, Denmark (6th/31 2.4 Metres)
- U.S. Independence Cup/North American Challenge Cup, Chicago, IL (1st/10 2.4 Metres)
- America’s Disabled/Open Regatta, St. Petersburg, FL (1st/8 2.4 Metres)
- Naples Sabot Senior Nationals, Long Beach, CA (4th/18 boats)
- US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR, FL (3rd/18 2.4 Metres)
- Disabled Midwinters, St. Petersburg, FL (4th/12, 2.4mR)
- 2005 US Disabled Sailing Team-member (1st/3 2.4 Metres)

I'm bummed....Nobody bid on my ad for body advertising.I was really hoping to go to Torino. The paralympics are 71 days away and I just don't have the money to go the sailing regatta's and Torino. Oh well, maybe Beijing in '08.

I really have no idea why she helped me with a TOTAL redesign of the template for this site. I appreciate it greatly, and now it is "dis" abled friendly! Thanks Donna, check out the Accessify site here

Photos and Content used with permission of Mike Rowney.

Mike Rowney is a paraplegic, a sailor and a philanthropist, after sustaining an eight meter fall and breaking his back he is back in the water. The "Around Australia Challenge" is about sailing around Australia, single handed, to raise money for the Wheel Chairs for Kids Charity, and prove that big dreams can happen.

"This trip means a lot to me, not only is it a completion of the odyssey I began in Greece in 2001, but also it's a chance to give something back for what I have received. There is a saying- "Life is a storm. You bask in the sunlight one moment to be shattered on the rocks in the next. It's what you do when that storm comes"

Check out the site here.

Taken from USOLYMPIC, by Rick Patzche

"STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Team USA for the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games has been announced after completion of the 2006 Paralympic Trials this weekend in Utica, N.Y. The five-person team will be comprised of Jim Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.), Jim Pierce (North Syracuse, N.Y.), Danell Libby (Chatham, N.Y.), Wes Smith (Glenburn, Maine) and Augusto Perez (East Syracuse, N.Y.)."

I signed up at a forum for web-designers that specializes in "accessifying"
websites for people with various types of disabilities. In the interest of making this site as good as it can be I will be implementing some design changes.

If you are designing a site, or already have one, check them out here

Jayant Mistry, the U.K.'s #1 wheelchair tennis player, scooped a couple of sports awards on the year when he was named 'Disabled Player of the Year' at the Lawn Tennis Association Awards at the Hurlingham Club, London, and BBC East Midlands 'Disabled Sportsman of the Year' at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester.

Jayant is a great player and multiple title winner in this year, 1 single, (New York,) and 9 doubles titles, including the first Wimbledon Doubles event ever. His current doubles partner, Michael Jeremiasz, is the World's #1 in singles and doubles.

I have always thought that "cybernetic" technologies would provide for people with spinal injuries long before stem cell therapies. Japan's Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor and engineer at Tsukaba University developed the "HAL" project. HAL stands for hybrid assisted limb, and detects muscle movement through electrical signals on the skin and amplifies them. read more

Two control systems interact to help the wearer stand, walk and climb stairs. A "bio-cybernic" system uses bioelectric sensors attached to the skin on the legs to monitor signals transmitted from the brain to the muscles. It can do this because when someone intends to stand or walk, the nerve signal to the muscles generates a detectable electric current on the skin's surface. These currents are picked up by the sensors and sent to the computer, which translates the nerve signals into signals of its own for controlling electric motors at the hips and knees of the exoskeleton. It takes a fraction of a second for the motors to respond accordingly, and in fact they respond fractionally faster to the original signal from the brain than the wearer's muscles do.

Homepage of the "HAL" suit.

Here is a page of other "exoskeletons" a wikipedia about "cybernetics"

Photo used with permission of Magnus L.

Taken from TeamParadise:

"Miami, Fl. ­ A group of veteran Olympic sailors from around the world have announced the establishment of the first ever program to pair Olympic medallists with the disabled, in an effort to ensure that physically challenged athletes, including the blind, become strong enough sailors to participate in, and become champions at, the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China."

"Magnus Liljedahl, winner of the Star Class Sailing 2000 Olympic Gold Medal for the USA, is spearheading the newly named TeamPARADISE effort in Coconut Grove, Florida. The program, which teaches racing skills to the disabled, is being established under the auspices of Shake-A-Leg Miami (SALM), one of the largest, fully accessible community water sports center in the world."

As you all should know, I am trying to get more jobs together and I called Magnus today about photographing their sailors during the 2006 Rolex Miami OCR. I explained to him who I was, and what I was doing. I asked him if they needed a photojournalist to cover the team and his response was "the more the merrier". I will have (hopefully) full license to photograph the athletes and use my pix and articles for submission to magazines etc. As always I will keep you informed.

Story taken from USOlympics: by Martin Olberding

"COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – U.S. Paralympics, along with head sled hockey coach Keith Blasé, announced the 15 men who have been nominated for the 2006 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team at the World Arena in Colorado Springs Sunday. " (read more )

Hilary Lister is a "dis"abled woman from the United Kingdom, she has "reflex sympathetic dystrophy" a proggresive disease that has paralysed her from the neck down. She just took up sailing a few years ago, and using "sip and puff" technology was able to become the first quadriplegic to sail across the English Channel. Here is the interview I wrote her.

Ralph:Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, and congratulations on your award "Helen Rollason Award for Inspiration." That must have been very cool.

Hilary: I was the last person I expected to be nominated for, let alonereceive, the award. I really do feel very humbled. All I did was go for asail with some mates for a day. I couldn't have been more surprised,especially as my Mum had pointed out that there were steps up onto the stage(she got it wrong, she just couldn't see the ramp!) It was an amazing night.

Ralph:What is it you like most about most about sailing?

Hilary: Like most sailors, I think that it's the freedom. On the water I'm my own person, and I love the wind and water. It feels like flying!

Ralph:Do you follow the careers of any of the "pro" disabled female sailors like Jennifer French of the U.S?

Hilary: A little, but I have only been sailing for a very short period of time, and all my sailor mates are able-bodied, so I tend to spend most of my time following them.

Ralph: Do you have any plans for competition? The paralympic trials and the IFDS disabled sailing championships are just around the corner.

Hilary: I enjoy sailing on the sea, and my preference is for long-distancesailing. I haven't done much racing, but it gets crowded, and I like thesolitude you get on the ocean.

Ralph: What would you say to a young woman that wanted to get into sailing?

Hilary: Just go for it! There is bound to be a club relatively near you,even if you live far inland there are reservoirs and rivers.

Ralph: On your website you talk about sailing around the British Isles, goodluck with that and keep me informed, you really deserve that award. Till next time.__

To find out more about Hilary check out ChannelChallenge

The "official" story: "Tank Chair is a Custom off-road wheelchair that can go anywhere outdoors. Conquers Streams, Mud, Snow, Sand, and Gravel, allowing you to get back to nature, and can also climb up and down stairs. For every 10 chairs sold, TankChair is going to donate one to a fire department in a rural area so that they can give it away to someone who would not normally be able to afford one. The first is going to go to Parker Fire Department in Arizona. This is our hometown and they were the ones who rescued my wife, my kids, and myself when we got in the accident that put her in the chair."

Oh my goodness! "TankChair" the pictures should say it all, but I just got off the phone with Brad @ TankChair and he said a new model is in the works. The potentially 12 mile an hour - Brad: "I wouldn't reccomend it" boasts, tank style trac-drive, spiral cell batts, 15 mile charge, self levelling seat and other "bells and whistles.

Check out the Image gallery, or better yet,Videos

Brad told me he was even making one for a blind gent, w/ proximity sensors and surround sound. YEE-HAH. At a sugg. $15,000 to $18,000 price I might just get another loan. That or sell a leg to cannibals, don't use them anyway. j/k..well maybe..

Pictures and content used with permission of TankChair.

Sally Woods, a British wheelchair marathon racer was awarded "Disabled Sports Personality" in the U.K.

I learn new stuff about disabled sports everyday, the 3rd Asian Paralympic Games started today.

"Manila will be hosting the Para Games for the very first time. The event, which will be held on December 14-20, 2005, is considered the biggest sporting event for the disabled sector in the SEA regional level. Most of the events will be held at the historic Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Manila, while athletes and officials will be billeted in selected Manila hotels."

Taken from their official website.

"The 18th annual The Hartford Ski Spectacular was held in Breckenridge, Colorado, Dec. 4-11. It is the nation's largest winter sports event for people with physical disabilities and includes men's and women's NorAm slalom and giant slalom races in standup and sit-ski categories.(read more)

Congrats go out to Zupan and the boys, winners of the 2005 Pasadena Open. They won a low scoring "34-30" championship game over the Denver Harlequins. Check out the Stampede @ FeartheSteer.

The ITF and NEC have finalized the 2006 Calendar. Download the pdf. 268k.
There have also been a few changes. You can read about them on the ITF here.

85 days until the IX (that's 9th) Paralympic games. Check out the site here.M,

Operating a blog really is a labor of love. Between the templates, add-ons, coding, and providing content, it's very easy to knock-off 8 hours a day. I am in the process of listing my blog in a number of blog directories to get some more traffic. If ypou have a blog, click on any, or all of them, sign up and start getting traffic. The ones I'm using are in the left sidebar.

I made a call to Canon U.S.A's P.R. department today, asking them to donate some equipment to assist me with my photojournalism. The EOS Digital SLR I bought in March '05 has served me very well, but the lenses and extra equipment are to much for my pocket. You can look at my old equipment, and how I take pictures here.

2006 Rolex Miami OCR:

"US SAILING has announced that on-line registration for the 2006 US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is now open. A mainstay on the winter circuit for Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, the 17th Annual US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is expected to bring together hundreds of sailors from about 30 countries to Biscayne Bay from January 22-27, 2006. "(read more)

The IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championships are being held in Perth, Australia between Jan. 16th and the 25th. (read more) There is no way I can afford to go to Perth, but the Rolex OCR is 3 hrs from my house and has 2.4 mr and Sonar paralympic qualifiying. I used to live down there and with the 10+ world-class sailing tournaments going on, I should get some good pix.

Photo by Kelvin Brown.
Story taken from dlf.org.uk."

Stars of sports, music, film and TV are amongst a number of high profile personalities who have decorated walking sticks for an online auction supporting the work of the Disabled Living Foundation (DLF), a national charity providing information on disability equipment. The customised walking sticks will be auctioned on eBay in the lead up to Christmas, with bidding taking place from the 9th – 19th December 2005.

Amongst the walking sticks up for grabs are ones decorated by Annie Lennox, Graham Norton, Emma Thompson, Sir Ian McKellen, EastEnders’ star Michelle Ryan, the Williams F1 team , players from Everton FC and Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats." (read more)

Some of you may remember my posting about "chair skating," or "wheelchair skateboarding. I don't really know how to define or explain either term, I guess it is best left up to Tyler Deith himself in an interview he gave me over the weekend. Cool huh?

Ralph: It says on your site you have been wheeling around for three
years now. How did you get in the chair? (I broke my neck in a diving
acident seven years ago b/t/w.)

Tyler: Motorcycle accident. October 1st 2001. I was 21, went off the road on my way to work. I used to work at the airport as an airplane mechanic.I broke my spine at T-6.

Ralph: It's obvious from your videos you live a VERY active, some would say crazy life for a person in a chair. What drives you, motivates you to drop in on a ramp?

Tyler: I get restless mostly, I think its just a good thing to do. It lets me feel normal.

Ralph: Have you had any serious injuries from your activities? In the "Bails Section" on your video page you have had some wicked looking crashes.

Tyler: Nothing to serious I've had a broken arm, broken toe, sprained wrist, a torn out shoulder, few cuts and bruises.

Ralph: I do photography as my hobby/part time job. How involved are you with the filming and production of your videos?

Tyler: My website was put together by a friend of mine Dave. I've been at it for about the past year or so and I enjoy it.

Ralph: What plans do you have for the future of your site and sports hobbies? I see you going a long way.

Tyler: I just got back from California two weeks ago. I had a good time. Bought a new wheelchair called a Colours. Its a much nicer ride. I have about a foot of snow outside, so just taking it easy and relaxing. I do a bit of construction work on my house, and working on an ultralight airplane. Planning a trip somewhere in the new year, Florida would be nice.

Ralph: Is there any message you have for people in chairs, or for people who percieve people in chairs as "less able"?

Tyler: Life rolls on.

Ralph:Thanks for this interview. It's damn cold in Ontario, if you want to come to Florida again, I have the hook up, thanks again and talk to you soon.

Tyler: OK

Click here to check out Tyler's site, and if your in a chair, get in it and do something with yourself.I agree with you Tyler, life really does "roll on."

I have posted about the BBC (British Broadcast Corp,) and their massive free online radio broadcasts. You need Realplayer to listen to the shows, if you don't have it download the free player. They have the best radio stations, very little (if any) censorship, and great DJ's. I guess the 7 + million person population craves good music, and they get it fo' sho'.

My personal recommendations are.

• 1. Annie Nightingale. Thursday night, Breaks, Beats, and mixes.
• 2. Pete Tong. Friday night, Techno mix show.
• 3. Friday night - Hip Hop and Reggae Dancehall w/ Tim Westwood and Chris Goldfinger.

If you already have the Realplayer go to the BBC Homepage and click "Listen Live." As Ali G says "Big up all the London massiff!"

I sent an e-mail over to Chris @ Quadfather.net today. It's a great site, with profiles of the "murderballers," pictures, forum, events and gear. My e-mail said this,

Hi Chris,Thanks for all your hard work with quadfather.net. I own, operate and administer http://www.rollingpix.blogspot.com. I get about 2,000 hits per day and I would like to set a link to your site on my homepage

Chris responded - That would be phenomenal, Thanks !!

I'll add your link to mine too.

This site of mine is really starting to get some pop!

Buy this movie. NOW!

Three tournaments starting this week on three different continents.

Prague Cup Czech Indoor 2005:Prague, Czechoslovakia - $6,000 Euro's prize money.

La Classique Internationale OPHQ 2005:
Quebec, Canada - $11,000 U.S. Prize money.

Central Coast Open 2005:
NSW. Australia. $1,500 AUS.

I will post the winners when they are available.

Story from Contact Music:
Rapper EMINEM wants to return to the big screen to play a reallife paraplegic athlete.

The 8 MILE star is said to be so impressed with new documentary MURDERBALL, which focuses on wheel-chair bound American rugby player MARK ZUPAN, he wants to play him in the movie of his life.

Zupan admits even he was surprised when he heard the news: "I have a friend that works for the William Morris Agency and he got a phonecall that Eminem was interested in playing either me or a guy in the film if this ever gets made into a Hollywood movie.

"It was kinda weird. When you hear something like that you're like, `Where am I? Who is this person and what is going on?'"

I learned how to make my links and posted links open in new windows today. This is achieved by adding the "target="_blank" at the end of the a href= tag.

I don't follow this nearly as much as I probably should. 7 years in the chair and I have kinda settled in annd accepted things. Here is a story taken from SpinalInjury.net.

Seoul, South Korea (LifeNews.com) -- A South Korean woman who was paralyzed for 20 years is walking again -- thanks to adult stem cell research. The news is further evidence of the success scientists are having with the more ethical form of stem cells.

Thirty-seven-year-old Hwang Mi-Soon’s miracle cure came about as a result of stem cells harvested from umbilical cord blood.

read more

Very Cool!

Photo by Yevhen Doroshenko

This twenty-seven year old Ukrainian woman boasts 7 gold medals in Paralympic copmpetition in 6 years, including lifting 102.5 kilos at the 2005 Powerlifting European Championships in Quarteira, Portugal. For all you non-metrics that's a 97 lb'er lifting 225.9 lbs. Way to go.

I surf the internet alot, looking for content to post here on Rollingpix. I had heard of "Street Climbing" before, and while I was "researching" this crazy stuff I found some sites for your review.

• Parkour- David Belle's site in French and English.
• UrbanFreeflow - "UF is the largest and most comprehensive freestyle parkour website in the World, continually helping practitioners find their path. Home of Seidojin, a full time team of professional athletes."
• UrbanClimbing - Another French/English site with pics, vids and forum.

I have noticed alot of foreign visitors on this site, and to show my appreciation I added the Altavista "Babelfish" Translator tool. You can find it in the left sidebar. Enjoy. This thing really works too. I feel bad I didn't have it on here sooner.

Martin 16 Sailboat:

This is "the" sailboat for anyone with any disability. The boat can be configured with sip and puff, joystick or electronic windlass, and just about any person with any disability can single hand sail this boat. I have read some amazing stories about disabled sailors doing some great things with this boat. You can read more about this boat here.

I have been in the hospital since Saturday with an E Coli infection. I got some fluids, antibiotics and rest.

Wheelchair Tennis:
Esther Vergeer won her 8th! consecutive Masters final. She's amazing. Michael lost in the finals to the big Dutch Robin Ammerlam 6-2, 6-3. He still finishes the year at number 1. PFFFT.

Well, well. I should be whipped, but since I sit on my butt that will be difficult. So I will just say SORRY, and try to make a really good post, or two. Here we go...

Wheelchair Tennis:NEC Masters - Netherlands

Michael Jeremiasz (FR) World No. 1 got pushed hard in a repeat of this years U.S. Open against Satoshi Saida #7 of Japan. From the internet reports it was awesome, the first set found Saida up 5-2 in the first set but he couldn't hang on, Jeremiasz won the next 5 games and the first set 7-5. Saida was in the drivers seat 3-0 in the second and double faulted, bringing the set to a tie-break that he won 8-6. The No.1 player got his wheels under him, winning the third and the match 6-1, way to go. I just wish David Hall was there for another Jeremiasz rollover.

Paralympics:

Today, at an extraordinary meeting of the IPC Sports Council in Beijing, China, elections for the Sports Council Management Committee were held.

Fred Jansen, was elected to the position of Chairperson to serve for a four year term. Since November 2004, he has been acting as the Interim Chairperson. IPC Athletics Sport Council Representative, Chris Cohen was elected as Vice-Chairperson, for a two year term.

Three members at large were also selected by means of a secret ballot, Kate Caithness (Wheelchair Curling Representative) for a four year term, and Anne Green (IPC Swimming Representative) and Jim Leask (Goalball Representative) for a term of two years.

The Sports Council Management Committee is the representative body of the Sports Council who meets on a regular basis to deal with operational matters related to the Council.

New wheelchair sport: Power Soccer

Power Soccer is the most exciting new development for power wheelchair users. The extremely competitive sport of power soccer has been ongoing for over 14 years, but is just now exploding onto the public scene. The United States, Canada, Japan, and Denmark are currently fielding teams and tournaments.

Power soccer is a team sport played by individuals with various disabilities. It is unisex by design, and male and female participants are often on the same team, as well as opposing sides. The game is usually played in a gymnasium on a regulation basketball court. Occasionally there are outdoor parking lot competitions. Two teams of 4 power chair users attack, defend, and maneuver an oversized soccer ball in an attempt to score points on a goal. The game is similar to the non-stop action seen in a typical indoor soccer game.

In the time-honored tradition of quad rugby, power soccer is a true dynamic development for power wheelchair users. This action packed team sport combines the skill of the wheelchair user with the speed and power of the chair itself, to participate in an extremely challenging game very similar to soccer. Power soccer is the first competitive team sport designed and developed specifically for power wheelchair users. These participants include persons with quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, head trauma, stroke, and other disabilities.

The will to win, the competitive challenge, teamwork, and the total competitive spirit of an athlete is in no way limited or diminished because of confinement to a wheelchair. As in all sports, win, lose, or draw, the thrill and joy is in playing the game.

Michael Jeremiasz, the world No. 1 men's singles and doubles player, won back to back to back! Nottingham Indoor titles crushing Peter Wikstrom 6-0,6-1. He is now guaranteed to finish the year at No.1. I can't wait to see him next year in Miami.

I have posted about Tyler Deith, this Canadian para, whose idea of fun is dropping in on skate ramps in his push chair. I sent him a quick e-mail telling him how crazy that is and asked his permission to set a link to his site here on Rollingpix. "Sure go right ahead" and here it is.

• Tyler Deith wheelchair ramp drops and other crazy vids.

Canadians really are crazy.

I will let the pix speak.

Pelicans

Damn I'm sorry. I have been going through some things this week, my spinal cord injury rarely bothers me, but this week it has been awful. My emotional well being was well left of center and I needed a few days to pick up the pieces. I am still a bit twisted, but Rollingpix needs work, so here it is, a MEGA update,enjoy.

Wheelchair Tennis - Nottingham (GBR)Indoor Tour.

All the main seeds are safely through to the quarter finals of this U.S. $11,000 dollar event. Here are some results.

• Briton's No.1 Jayant Mistry wins 6-0, 6-1 over his countrymen Tony Knappett
• World No.1 Michael Jeremiasz (FR) wins 6-2, 6-1 over Kevin Plowman (GBR)

Michael is going for for a three-peat of consecutive titles, and at this tournament has played Jayant, the seven time winner, three times. Michael won in 2004, 2003, and I anticipate him winning this year as well. He leads the former No.1 David Hall (AUS) by 88 points.

• British No.2 Jamie Robinson wins 6-0, 6-4 over Swiss Carlos Tresch

This is a big tournament, hosted by the British Lawn Tennis Association. I am glad it's indoors because it has got to be frigid in Nottingham now. Damn it is! A high of 13 celsius, that's 55.4 fahrenheit. BRRRRR.

Team U.S.A Quad Rugby Tryouts.

Selections for the 2006 World Championship U.S. Quad Rugby Team are being made this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, followed by three "Murderball" tournaments this month. More info can be found here.

Dis-abled Sailing.

Farr One Design Invitational Regatta "Cancelled!"
Miami, Florida
Nov.3-6th

Stagg Yachts, together with the Farr 40 and Mumm 30 class associations, have decided to cancel the 2005 Rolex Farr One Design Invitational due to the conditions in South Florida following Hurricane Wilma. Originally scheduled for November 3-6 in Miami's South Beach, the regatta was also set to double as the Mumm 30 North American Championship. That regatta will now take place during Key West Race Week. (Jan. 16th-20th. 2006) "There are too many issues with getting boats launched, not knowing when power and water will be restored, when curfews will be lifted, gas stations open and the residents of the area recovered from the damage incurred to proceed," said Stagg Yachts President Geoff Stagg.

• Shingo Kunieda JPN, half of the surprise U.S. Open winning doubles team, won this years $7,500 Peace Cup in his home country of Japan, winning 6-1, 6-4 over the Korean player Ha-Gel-Lee.


• Matthew Faucher GBR won the prestigious $1,500 Esporta Cardiff after being down in the 1st set 2-6, winning 6-4, 6-4 over his countryman Kevin Plowan.


• Frederic Cattaneo FR won the $3,000 Tournoi de Montfermeil over his countrymen Francois Morille 6-4, 6-3. I don't know why No.1. player FR MJ isn't there whiping butt, but after 5 years of competing finally paying off, he deserves a break.

Did you know that Michael Jeremiasz is the No. 1 Men's Wheelchair Tennis player in the world? In both singles and doubles? That's so cool. He is a great tennis player and I look forward to photographing him again. I am having alot of fun with Rollingpix, and learning these HTML codes and style-sheets has given me a completely different view of the internet and how it works. Rollingpix is a idea that came to me in early 2005.

I went to a tennis tournament on my birthday in 2004, I was 6 years into my Spinal Cord Injury at that time, and totally absent from things having to do with people in chairs. I saw these really fit men and women in chairs playing tennis, and no people in chairs photographing them. The idea for a person in a chair photographing wheelchair athletics seemed like a great way for me to get involved in the scene. From April 2004 to March 2005 I crawled search engines to find the right camera technology and how best to take pictures from my chair.

I found the tech with Canon Cameras and Manfrotto Tripods and the result is Rollingpix. Thanks to the 20,000 people that have come to my site in the past month, even though the No.1 is Maria Sharapova's cute butt.

As of yesterday Oct. 17th. Michael Jeremiasz became the No 1 men's wheelchair tennis player, both singles and doubles in the world! Previously holding the French National Championship, "2001,2002," this is the 24 year old's first time at number one. He has only been playing WCT for 5 years. In that short time he has won 19 pro tournaments and placed 2nd in countless others. Good Luck Michael, now and in the future. I took this picture at the NASDAQ 100 Open on March 31st. 2005. Credit me if you use it please.

Rollingpix

That spiffy banner up there was made by Nick @ Pendulum Graphics in Tampa, Florida. If your curious about how to do it, here's the technique. (1.) "How to change my header in Blogger?

Get yourself an image at least 800px (x) 100 px. Host that image somewhere. Copy the html code for the hosted picture. Open your Blogger template and scroll down until you see the bit of code that says "start header"and"/end header"

. Under "start header" and above "/end header"is where you are working. Delete the code in that area except "div id header" and copy/paste the hosted picture there. Bam!

As the trailer to this docu-film asks, "What is a chair?"

"Champions on Wheels tells the story of five extraordinary young people who suddenly find themselves in wheelchairs. It is an unblinkingly honest, upbeat portrayal of courage, determination, perseverance, faith, belief in self, powerful athleticism, zest for life, and a great desire to be seen as a normal person. Wheelchair tennis players have recaptured their lives and are living them to their utmost. There is life after disability.

Champions on Wheels is aimed at two audiences: those who are recently injured and need to see what a full life they can still lead and those who are presently ambulatory. Watching these world class athletes overcome obstacles and insist on being independent compels us to admire their athletic prowess, dedication, zest for life and see them for what they are: real people who merely get around differently."

Buy this video folks. I had the opportunity and pleasure of apeaking with Grace Shafir who put this project together. I called her this morning about using content from her site here on Rollingpix. I really hope to have continuing contact with her. She has alot of great ideas about where to take the "entertainment factor" of wheelchair athletics in the future. You can view the trailer online, or go directly to their page here.

Rollingpix
Pictures, Links and Content used with permission of Grace Shafir

This young woman (24) is amazing, as of this last tournament she has won 155 consecutive matches. WHOA. This is longest streak in Women's wheelchair tennis. Her winning streak goes all the way back to 2003! Winning 155 matches in a row eclipses both the #'s 1 and 2 in "able-bodied" women's tennis.

• Martina Navratilova won 74 in '84

• Steffi Graf won 66 in '89-'90.

Einstein proved that "all things are relative," yep. She is "relatively" the best womans tennis player in history in that respect.
She is also quite beautiful.

"Update"

She won her 5th US Open Championship on Oct. 9th.

Sorry that I am just now posting about this prestigious Major tournament. Blame the ITF for not having the drawsheets available. Anyways here are the results..

• Michael Jeremiasz def. Satoshi Saida - 7/5, 6/3. That's my favorite tennis player
• Mens Doubles - Kuneida/Saida def. Jeremiasz/Hall - 4/6, 6/1, 6/1. I would have loved to see that match!
• Esther Vergeer def. Jiskie Griffioen - 6/2, 6/2.

I am glad that the tournament went well. Esther Vergeer is definitely the most dominant female athlete in wheelchair tennis history, hands down.

I will be posting less frequently over the next few days. Rollingpix is starting to consume the majority of my time and I need to find a good way or ways of making it profitable. My photography has been completely on hold for too long. I have ideas for other blogs too, I just don't have enough time.... Til then.

Rollingpix

This years $50,000 2005 Wheelchair Tennis Masters Tournament in Atlanta is in it's third round today. (1.) David Hall and (2.) Michael Jeremiasz are cruising through, Mr. Hall's first opponent retired at 5 - 0 in the first set. In the second round he won 6 - 0, 6 - 1. Mr. Jeremiasz went through to today winning 6 - 0, 6 - 1 in the first and 6 - 1, 7 - 5.

David Hall and Michael Jeremiasz continue their dominance of the number 1 and 2 spots in the world rankings. Mr. Hall won in sets on Sun. Oct. 2. Winning 6 - 2, 7 - 5. He leads in their head to head matches this year 4 - 3.

Peter Rieke

Age: 51 Disability: Parapalegic (Paralyzed from the waist down after a 1994 rock climbing accident) Atheletic Accomplishments: Climbed to the summits of Mount Rainier (14,411 ft.), Mount Hood (11,239 ft.), and Mt. Shasta (14,162 ft.) using only his arm strength and his custom built, human powered SnowPod.

Prior to the climbing accident that left him without the use of his legs, Peter had stood atop the impressive summit of Mount Rainier six times. While many felt his climbing career was over, Peter had other thoughts. After three years designing and building the human-arm-powered SnowPod (a hybrid between a bike/tractor with spiked snowmobile treads), he set off to reach the summit of Mount Rainier—and failed.

A second attempt also fell short, but on the third try, Rieke reached the fabled summit in the midst of a whiteout. The grueling climb took 10 days and his team weathered 4 days of tent shredding storms and high winds. When asked why he wanted to ascend the peak, he responded with a Mallory-like: “Because I can.” Since then, Peter has continued to climb in the Pacific Northwest and has led three other disabled climbers up Mt. Shasta

This is my third e-mail to the ITF concerning my photos of Mr. David Hall and Michael Jeremiasz. I see that a picture of Mr. Hall has been added to his profile. Would you be interested in using my photo of Michael for his profile, free of charge? I am in a chair and am trying to make a new carrer as a photographer. At the least please respond to my e-mail.

I don't know why they won't respond.

I think that this guy has b***s as big as his wheels.
Here is his page with many videos.

"The World Wheelchair and Amputee Games will be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro from 16th – 25th of September 2005, and will provide a range of sport specific opportunity from development to elite competition for physically disabled athletes. The major competition venue will be the Navy School and Miécimo da Silva Sports Complex.

The event which happens every two years on behalf of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) will be organized by the the Brazilian Association of Sports in Wheelchair (ABRADECAR). Aiming at offering the best in terms of organization, the Organizing Committee (OC) of the games is comprised of major names involved in Olympic and Paralympic sports as well as well known event specialized promoters.Besides, the games will be supported by the Municipal, Sate and Federal Governments; which will guarantee an efficient and competent network aiming at organizing an event that has everything to become part both national and international Parasports history.

It is chasing that ideal that the OC of the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games – 2005, with the support of the U.N., shall promote a ceremony in favor of World Peace. Such tribute will take place on the 21st of September – the day the UN chose to be the Internationa Day of World Peace and also the day Brazil honors their disabled.

National and international celebrities are expected at the ceremony.We are absolutely sure of the success of these Games since besides the fact of being the second most important event in the Paralympics Movement, it will be supported and organized by important areas connected to the social work developed aiming at the inclusion of the disabled all over the world."

"Tribute To Peace" their website is here. I am searching the site for American "dis" abled athletes results and will post them with updates.

Javelin 600g Men's wheelchair. Final Result.
(10.) Ray Brown U.S.A. - Best Throw - 31.74

Shot Put 3/4 kg Women's wheelchair. Class F57/58

(10.) Jerry Braun U.S.A - Best - 3.93

R3 Air Rifle Prone

(3.) Bronze Medal! Robert Sheildis. U.S.A - Score - 590

6 days in - One third place. That's pretty damn competitive!

I am always looking for new and interesting ways to be a active "disabled" man. Over the past couple years I have done alot of travelling, Canada for two months (by myself,) Miami many times, Ft. Lauderdale many times, Biloxi Miss, New Orleans and other places. There are a great many wheelchair sports that I am interested in, but none have gotten my complete attention like sailing. The technology that is available was made and designed by Don Martin and his crew at their site.

The boat is called the Martin16 and this boat is perfect for people with disabilities to learn how to sail, or in my case, return to sailing,independently maybe. Here is a video .(67 megs) I am now living in Tampa, Florida and seeing as it is right on the water I shouldn't have too hard of a time finding a Yacht Club that offers lessons. Will update this as I find out more.

I took a few pictures of Michael Jeremaisz, the #2 ranked wheelchair tennis player in the world. Periodically I check on him and he won a big Italian tournament over the weekend. He is also the Paralympic Bronze in Athens. The pic is at the NASDAQ 100 in Miami Bch. Here is a great Italian wheelchair tennis site

Maria Sharapova's cute butt!

Last night I watched the ladies play, 2 matches, the 1st was Sharapova vs. Petrova, there were more breaks of serve in this match than lip-synched words at an Ashlee Simpson concert. Maria stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st set then lost the next 4 games straight, the whole match was just like that, 7-5 1st, 4-6 2nd, 6-4 3rd. Great match overall,very competitive and I believe women's tennis to be far more entertaining than the men's game. Maybe it has something to do with this...

Make a Free Flash Slideshow

Here I am still in Vancouver. I have developed a few hundred pictures and posted none. Van is an amazing city as I said before. The downtown areas are modern and beautiful with tons of glass and concrete buildings offset by the water, mountains and tree-lined streets. Since my last post here are a few of the things I have done and places I have seen.

1. The weekend of the 12th I went with a friend that told me Rick Hansen had a fundraiser to benefit spinal cord research. Rick Hansen is this amazing Canadian paraplegic that rolled the entire circumference of the planet back in the 80's. I don't have permission yet to add his link or logo but googling his name will give you all the info you could want. The benefit was held at B.C. Place on False Creek which is right on the water. My friend and I walked all around the sea wall on Pacific St, and all of these following pictures are of that area.