Area teens compete in S. Africa
Recently the 15-member Junior Disability USA Team traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa, to compete in the World Junior Disability Championships. Remarkably, four of those team members are from the Spokane area.
The teens are part of Team St. Luke’s, a group of fiercely competitive, physically disabled athletes. They competed against teams from 13 countries in track and field and swimming events, bringing home 21 medals.
Teresa Skinner, an occupational therapist at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, organized Team St. Luke’s in 1995.
“I have a huge passion for the effects of sports on people with disabilities,” she said. “Every person who comes into this program is changed.”
Community support from St. Luke’s and the Children’s Miracle Network made the team possible.
She said that because physically disabled kids often don’t participate in sports, they miss out on some of the lessons the able-bodied take for granted.
“Think of what we learn by losing,” she said. “We learn to pick ourselves up and try again.”
Fifteen-year-old, team member Susannah Scaroni never pictured herself as an athlete. The Tekoa, Wash., resident was paralyzed from the waist down after a spinal cord injury.
“She barely spoke a word when she started,” said Skinner. “Now she’s a leader.”
Scaroni won six medals at the games. She said, “I love the competition. It’s thrilling! It’s also comforting to meet other teens going through the same challenges.”
Then she chuckled, “The medals are nice, too.”
Fellow team member Jordan Clyburn, a student at North Central High School, said she’s gained a lot of independence through participation with Team St. Luke’s. She enjoyed the competition in South Africa. “It was neat to see all the different countries represented. It makes the world seem smaller.”
The highlight of the trip for Jordan was the safari the team was able to take. “I saw elephants, giraffes, a rhino – it was amazing!”
Seventeen-year-old Bob Hunt, a junior at Riverside High School, has always wanted to travel to South Africa. He said, “It was kind of weird getting used to being on the other side of the world, but the people were so friendly and helpful.”
Skinner said, “Bob is our ambassador. He’s the first one to befriend the other teams.” He’s also the entertainer of the group. Due to a degenerative disease, his legs didn’t develop properly. He uses a wheelchair on occasion, but delights in scampering around on his hands.
“He’s very tiny on his hands and he ran up and down the aisles of the airplane, giving people a fright,” Skinner said.
She ought to know about fright. One night in their hotel Hunt hid inside a dresser drawer and popped out at her when she opened it.
Hunt said being part of Team St. Luke’s has changed his life. “I used to be lazy,” he said. “I didn’t want to try anything. I was pretty much a bum.”
This former “bum” brought home a bronze medal and is planning to travel to Beijing in 2008 to compete in the Paralympics.
According to Skinner, Hunt’s fellow Riverside teammate David Watts took a lot of persuading to join the team. “He saw himself as more of a student, not an athlete,” she said. Watts competed with Team St. Luke’s last summer in Tampa, Florida, and came away with a national record for his class in the pentathlon.
“But on this trip he really came out of his shell,” said Skinner. “We all fell in love with his witty, dry sense of humor.”
This summer, area residents will have the opportunity to see Team St. Luke’s in action. Spokane will host the National Junior Disability Championships July 21-28. The event will feature 30 teams and 300 athletes from around the country.
The group hopes the games will be well attended. “You’ll see a lot of great competition,” said Bob Hunt. “People would be surprised at what we can do.”
Skinner said, “These are national athletes who deserve our support. Through Team St. Luke’s their perception has been changed about what they can accomplish and who they can become.”
Hunt agreed and added, “We can do anything an able-bodied person can.”