Local Veteran Competes in National Veterans Wheelchair Games

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       Anchorage, Alaska. -- July 5,2006 -- Philemon "Joe" Velasquez, a disabled Navy veteran from Turlock, Calif., is competing in the 26th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, being held through July 8 in Anchorage, Alaska. With more than 550 athletes from 46 states, Puerto Rico and Great Britain, this is the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world. All athletes are military veterans who use wheelchairs due to spinal cord injuries, certain neurological conditions, orthopedic amputations or other disabilities. Velasquez, 57, a veteran of the Vietnam Era, is a quadriplegic. He is currently receiving care at the VA medical facility in Palo Alto, Calif.

       Velasquez is competing in the following events:

swimming (25 yd. backstroke)
table tennis
swimming (25 yd. freestyle)
bowling (manual)
slalom (manual chair)

       "It's not that life is so short; it's just that dying lasts so long," said Velasquez. "You have to make the best of every day and these events bring out the best in all of us."

       Athletes in the Games compete within three divisions -- Masters (over age 40), Novice (first-time competitors in the Games), and Open (all others, or those who chose to compete in this category). They also compete within classes according to the level of their physical ability, with three quadriplegic-level classes (IA, IB, and IC), and four paraplegic-level or amputee classes (II, III, IV, and V). Velasquez competes as a Class IC in the Masters division.

       The Games are presented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), and are hosted this year by the Alaska VA Healthcare System and Regional Office and the Paralyzed Veterans of America Northwest Chapter. Funded with help from a host of corporations and service organizations, the National Veterans Wheelchair Games are a showcase for the benefit of sports rehabilitative programs, and the remarkable athletic abilities and personal achievements of our nation's disabled veterans.

Note to Editor:
If you would like to interview Velasquez, he can be reached after July 10 at (209) 632-6643. For more information about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, contact Kim Byers, NVWG Public Affairs Coordinator at (734) 761-7824. (Above information regarding military service and disability provided by veteran.)