Salisbury VA honors Wheelchair Games team
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 2, 2016
- U.S. Marine Corps veteran Milas Wyatt of Salisbury talks with Hefner VA Medical Center Director Kaye Green about his accomplishments at the wheelchair games. His first year participating in the games, Wyatt won four medals — one gold and three bronze — in table tennis, javelin, bowling and discus. The Salisbury VAMC held a special event Monday afternoon to celebrate their Blue Steel wheelchair team’s accomplishments at the 2015 National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Dallas Texas last June. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
The W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center hosted an event Monday to recognize local veterans who participated in the 2015 National Veterans Wheelchair Games.
The 11 members of the Salisbury VA team, nicknamed “Blue Steel,” traveled to the 35th Wheelchair Games in Dallas, Texas, in June and won more than two dozen medals during the week-long competition.
Monday’s event also served to start the training season for the 2016 National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which will take place June 27-July 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Wheelchair Games will offer 19 events plus an additional sport this year – the triathlon. Bobsledding will be also be offered as an exhibition sport, according to a VA news release.
The Salisbury VA team hopes to add more members for this year’s edition of the games, which will be its fourth time participating.
Veterans who are interested in participating in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games or learning more about adaptive sports can contact the Salisbury VA recreation therapy department at 704-638-9000, extension 3223 or 4711.
More information is also available at www.wheelchairgames.org.
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games is sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Paralyzed Veterans of America.