Official 24th NVW Games

Note from Mike Savicki

The "Gateway to Victory" opened wide for the 27 NEPVA athletes who competed at the NVWG in St. Louis from June 15-19th. The team brought home lots of hardware: 30 gold, 18 silver and 14 bronze medals. But the medals are just "icing on the cake" for these athletes.

This is a tale of the old and the young, the Novice (first time competitor) and the "veteran" Veteran at the 24th NVWG. Curtis Hobbs, 82, of Boston, Mass. was the oldest veteran of the Games. He is a combat veteran of both WWII and the Korean War. "Old", however, does not describe Curtis's youthful attitude. "The National Veterans Wheelchair Games are the best thing that has happened in my life", said Curtis, who attended the Games for the first time last year. He was interviewed for the "Daily News", competed in five events and earned a silver medal in the Motorized Rally and a bronze in Table Tennis in class IC Masters.

John Bracewell, a Vietnam combat veteran from the Brockton VA, has the NEPVA team record for attendance at the Games. "This is my 23rd time competing at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games", said John. "Each year is more exciting than the year before. It does my heart good to see all the new people competing, and my heart goes out to them." John earned a silver medal in Air Guns and competed in four other events, as well.

The NEPVA team welcomed five Novices this year: Peter Moore, 23, of Worcester , Mass; Debra Freed, 46, of Framingham, Mass.; Rosemary Cahill, 48, of Yarmouthport, Mass.; Donald Jones Booker from the Brockton VA; and Jim Thibault, 44, of Bradford, Mass. Although the Games is for all veterans who use a wheelchair, it has a special mission to introduce the Novice participant to the many sports and recreational activities which, perhaps, they didn't think they could do because of their disability. The mentoring and camaraderie among the athletes with their shared experiences in war and in peacetime make the Games especially meaningful for these veterans, and the reason that the "veteran" Veterans come back year after year.

At 23, Peter Moore was the youngest NEPVA team member. He is a newly injured vet who completed his SCI rehab. at the West Roxbury VA earlier this year. He said he has "…learned so much from my peers about life in a wheelchair" while at the Games. And he learned a lot while he was cheering on his teammates in their events. Among the many cheering Peter on was his biggest fan - his father. Peter's favorite event was swimming, in which he won gold in the 50 meter Backstroke in class 2 Novice. He also earned silver in the very challenging Slalom and silver in Bowling.

Debra Freed (class 5 Novice) said she has "…always wanted to do something like this since I have been using a wheelchair for 10 years." As soon as she signed up (in Jan.) she began training by joining an archery club and practicing field events at home. Her training more than paid off as she won 5 gold medals in: Air Guns, Archery, Discus, Javelin and Shot-put.

Rosemary Cahill didn't even know that the NVWG existed until Feb. of this year when she met Wayne Ross (a 6 year veteran of the Games) who inspired her to take part for the first time. "Participating in the Games gives me the freedom to reach my own level of competence." She said. "Yesterday, I would have said I missed it all, but today I can say I have it all." In addition to her good experience Rosemary made her mark in the class 1C Novice, winning gold in both Air Guns and Archery.

Donald Jones Booker (class 3 Novice) had a great first Games, winning 4 gold medals in Ramp Bowling, Motorized Rally, the Powerchair 220, and Air Guns. He also earned a bronze medal in the Shot-put. "Booker" is a double amputee and combat veteran of Vietnam. He was "Thumbs up about everything" at the Games. "I haven't met old friends here but I've met a lot of new ones," he said.

Jim Thibault placed 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th in his events. Bronze was earned in his favorite game - 9-Ball. He also competed in Air Guns, Bowling, Javelin, and Shot-put in class 2 Novice. He wasn't worried about medals, however, and said he was "just happy to be here" at the Games.

There were many outstanding athletic performances by NEPVA team veterans: Mike Savicki's 5 golds in swimming and track events, a repeat performance of a number of past years; Mark Sander's hard fought gold medal in Basketball against Kenny Medeiros' silver medal team; Wayne Ross's 3 gold and 1 silver in Bowling and three swimming events respectively; David Lund's commanding win in the Handcycling 10K with a time that beat all classes not just his own (class 2); Joe Delvecchio conquering the hilly 10K course on a borrowed handcycle with "stuck" gears; and David Lund successfully conquering the Slalom "Super G" with its incredible high curbs, stairs, "chain lifting" and paint ball stations! Then, there was that "unofficial" event - "vaulting" into the high, soft beds at the Westin hotel…..for a well-deserved rest.

Complete results of the 24th NVWG can be found at www.wheelchairgames.org or through a link at the www.pva.org for "NVWG official site". This year's NEPVA team included: John Bracewell, William Bradford, John Brako, Rosemary Cahill, Kerry Conway, Joe Delvecchio, Eugene Ditto, Everett Farris Jr., Al Fenton, Debra Freed, Mike Guilbault, Roger Harris, Curtis Hobbs Donald Jones Booker, Lewis Kalesnik, Louis Liggiero, David Lund, Bob Mazzarella, Ken Medeiros, Peter Moore, George Norton, Thom Reid, Wayne Ross, Mark Sanders, Mike Savicki, Howard Tesnow, and James Thibault. Many thanks go out to the staff from Brockton, coaches, relatives and friends who accompanied the team to St. Louis.

With more than 515 athletes from 44 states, Puerto Rico and Great Britain, the NVWG is the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world. Next year's NVWG will be in Minneapolis, Minn., June 27th - July 1st. For more info, and to join next year's NEPVA team, contact NEPVA at 508 660-1181 or e-mail: info@nepva.org.

Ken Medeiros: "This is my 14th year competing in the Wheelchair Games. Sports have been my passion and I have been competing in wheelchair basketball since 1963. I always look forward to attending these Games. This group of competitors all have one thing in common-whether during peace time or in times of war, we all answered the call and served our great country".

Mark Sanders: "This is my fifth year competing in the Wheelchair Games and every year it gets better. I love seeing old friends, making new ones and visiting different cities. Most of all, I love participating in sports and not being a 'Monday morning quarterback."

Roger Harris: "This is my first visit to St. Louis and I have been looking forward to having a good time, the camaraderie with the other veterans and competing. I enjoy seeing the people I've met over the years. Seeing the glow on the faces of the novices is what these Games are all about. They are fantastic!"