A Boon To The Disabled Athletics Provide Opportunity To Focus On Remaining Abilities

Wheelchair athletes don’t have to be world-class to have a good time in the Inland Northwest. In fact, many local programs are based on providing for novice and elite athletes alike.

Sixteen years ago, Frank Traver learned what it was like to live without the use of his legs. Traver was operating a skidder, a large logging tractor, when he was ejected from the vehicle and landed on the ground below.

The accident resulted in a broken back that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

After the accident, Traver’s doctor advised him to look into athletics.

“The more active a person is, it just helps your whole well-being and it gives you something to thrive on,” said the energetic 44-year-old Traver. “It’s something to look forward to.”

Traver’s first experience with wheelchair sports was basketball. After watching an exhibition game by the nationally-ranked Spokane St. Luke’s Cyclones, Traver contacted them, tried out, and has played guard for the Cyclones ever since.

Like many wheelchair athletes, Traver didn’t stop there. His need to find yet another obstacle to overcome got him involved in sports ranging from tennis to snow skiing.

“Tennis is pretty individual,” said Traver. “There’s not too many guys who play it. That’s kind of the hard part around here.”

In the past, the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department has offered summer programs for disabled tennis players looking for competition or practice.

The parks department also has snow and water ski programs in place for wheelchair athletes. Basketball and tennis are also available.

With snow on the ground, skiers of all abilities are trekking to the mountains. Wheelchair skiers are no different. The parks department, which operates its program on Mount Spokane, has helped amputees, quadriplegics, paraplegics, people with muscular dystrophy and spina bifida, as well as people who are blind.

“The program is for anyone who would like to come up skiing,” said Mari Anne Figgins, a coordinator for the specialized ski program. “We’re all eager to instruct and help. We want to share our joy of skiing with others.”

Skiers are aided by the use of special equipment. The most useful are outriggers. All skiers in the disabled program use them. They are like a shortened pole/crutch with a short ski at the end for stability.

The wheelchair ski program has two levels: bi-ski and mono-ski. A bi-ski is a seat attached to two skis underneath the rider. The mono-ski is for the more advanced skier who only needs the aid of one ski.

“I think anyone can do it. … It does take trial and error and practice, and you can’t do it the first time, that’s for sure,” said Traver, recalling his first time skiing. “Once I started doing it though, I wondered why I’d waited so long to try it.”

During the summer, these athletes shed their wheelchairs for another chair of sorts - a sit ski. It is basically just a wakeboard with a seat attached. With it, they can cut waves as well as any stand-up water skier.

Many local bowling alleys have access for disabled participants. However, for competitive bowlers, Colonial Lanes is the only one that provides leagues. Other bowling centers have not had enough participation to expand to league play.

Wheelchair bowling involves putting your ball on a special ramp. Depending on where you position the ball, it will roll, hopefully, toward the pins.

Most local centers offer wheelchair access.

“We encourage anybody that would like something to do, just to come down,” said Phyllis Edelin, league coordinator at Colonial Lanes. “We’d love to sign them up. It’s a great program.”

The most important aspect of all these wheelchair sports is participating and having fun. Athletes can do things as strenuous as weightlifting and as recreational as golf.

“When some of the guys and gals are injured, a lot of the social life they had before is totally changed,” said Traver’s wife, Donna, who is involved in the skiing programs as a volunteer. “Through wheelchair sports, it teaches them more about their abilities rather than their disabilities.”

HOW TO GET INVOLVED For more information about: Snow and water skiing, tennis and other programs for the disabled, contact Alice Busch, Spokane Parks Department, 625-6245. Spokane St. Luke’s Cyclones basketball, contact Paul Hill, 467-3282. Bowling, contact Phyllis Edelin or Lorraine Hatfield at Colonial City Bowl, 328-0550.