Almost Time for Tampa

Preparations for the annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games are underway in the Sunshine State.

It might be hard to believe, but the 33rd annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG) are coming up fast, and preparations are well underway in Tampa, Fla.

The Tampa Convention Center will be the main site for the NVWG, July 13–18. Events will also take place at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, the Tampa Riverwalk, in parks and at a local high school.

VA Recreation Therapist Jeanene LeSure says the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) secured all the sporting event and ceremony venues late last year.

“We’re almost at the halfway point,” says LeSure, who is responsible for managing the LOC. “We’ve been working for about a year now,” she explains.

Recently the LOC completed its warehouse inventory, and they are stocked for the Games.

“We went through about seventeen 53-foot UPS trucks full of equipment [for the sporting events],” LeSure says.

The LOC still has plenty of work to do. Currently, it’s working out the “finer details” of the Games, including finalizing the event schedule, ensuring it has the necessary equipment and checking that the venues are capable of holding the planned sports.

In the months ahead, LeSure and the LOC will be busy trying to register the 2,500–3,000 volunteers necessary to work the NVWG.

The NVWG is presented annually by Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Games allow veterans with disabilities to rediscover their strength and potential through athletic competition with peers.

For more information on volunteering or participating, visit wheelchairgames.va.gov / pva.org.   n

 

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