Local Veteran Competes in National Veterans Wheelchair Games

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       Anchorage, Alaska. -- July 5,2006 -- Patricia Wilson-Sapp, a disabled Army veteran from Rockwall, Texas, 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. Wilson-Sapp, 48, is a paraplegic. She is currently receiving care at the VA medical facility in Dallas, Texas.

       Wilson-Sapp is competing in the following events:

basketball
softball
table tennis
air guns (para)

       Wilson-Sapp is a longtime competitor at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. “Athletes new to the Games need to realize that until they attend, they will never know the fabulous connections they can make with other people," Wilson-Sapp said. "Lifelong friendships are built and bonds are formed that no one else can possibly understand. Competing in these events has changed my life and I wouldn’t be where I am now without the Games. It’s just the coolest thing in the world.”

       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). Wilson-Sapp competes as a Class II in the Open 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 Wilson-Sapp, she can be reached after July 10 at (214) 674-8108. 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.)