Local Veteran Competes in National Veterans Wheelchair Games

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       Anchorage, Alaska. -- July 5,2006 -- Michael Guilbault, a disabled Air Force veteran from Attleboro, Mass., 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. Guilbault, 47, is a quadriplegic. He is currently receiving care at the VA medical facility in West Roxbury, Mass.

       Guilbault is competing in the following events:

swimming (50 yd. backstroke)
quad rugby
softball
air guns (quad)
slalom (manual chair)

       "This is a must-attend annual mental health event," said Guilbault. "It's great fun and offers fitness training plus top notch competition. I haven't missed the Games since 1998, and have gone on to win national championships in swimming, softball and rugby with teams back home." Guilbault says that skiing is his favorite sport, and he also participates in the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, where he skis the Rocky Mountains using a mono-ski.

       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). Guilbault competes as a Class IC 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 Guilbault, he can be reached after July 10 at (508) 222-0669. 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.)