A Helping Hand at the PVA National Wheelchair Games

A couple of weeks ago, the Veterans National Wheelchair Games were held in Denver, organized by the VA and the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). The Wheelchair Games have been held every year for 30 years and are the largest wheelchair sporting event in the world. This year, there were more than 500 athletes competing in 18 sports in everything from archery to weightlifting.

HP was a proud sponsor of the wheelchair basketball tournament, which saw the Red team win in a thrilling championship game over team Black. Although the tournament brought together veterans from all sorts of athletic backgrounds (see Black Team teammates Mark Shepherd and Robin Brown), the passion and desire was strong in all of the competitors.

HP also sponsored and supported the “Kids Day”, where veteran athletes mentor local children with disabilities about the meaning of serving your country and learning about how to live with a disability. In addition to meeting the wheelchair athletes, the children participated in a variety of sports.

The event gave us the opportunity to display some of our HP accessibility solutions and use our printers and PC’s for scoring and game administration, but most importantly it was a great way to get involved with a tremendous event with a rich history and an unrivaled sense of spirit and passion. My colleague Jim Shea was at the games, and has been a long time supporter of the PVA and these games. Jim talked about the valuable experience of volunteering at the games (he saw at least some action from each of the 18 sports), instead of just providing a check and getting back to work.

Check out some of the pictures from the event here. Also, GovLoop recently wrote about the event and spoke with Jim Shea.