Local Veteran Competes in National Veterans Wheelchair Games

click on photo to enlarge

       Anchorage, Alaska. -- July 5,2006 -- Daniel Cravens, Jr., a disabled Marine Corps veteran from Redlands, 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. Cravens, 43, a combat veteran of the Gulf War (Operation Desert Shield/Storm), is a quadriplegic. He is currently receiving care at the VA medical facility in San Diego, Calif.

       Cravens is competing in the following events:

archery (quad with compound bow)
air guns (quad)
swimming (25 yd. freestyle)
swimming (25 yd. backstroke)
slalom (motorized, hand control)

       "I have been very excited about going to Alaska for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and will be giving it my very best," said Cravens. "This is my first time competing in this event, and I am going after the gold in air guns and archery, but my favorite wheelchair sport is quad rugby."

       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). Cravens competes as a Class IC in the Novice 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 Cravens, he can be reached after July 10 at (909) 528-9937. 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.)