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A Winner at Any Age
Curtis Hobbs, 83, Oldest Competitor at Veterans
Wheelchair Games
 Games
continue through Friday for 500 disabled veterans
June 30, 2005 - Curtis Hobbs never thought he was
good enough to participate in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. A
Boston resident and member of the New England Chapter of the Paralyzed
Veterans of America since 1967, Hobbs remembers hearing about the Games
in the early 1980s but chose not to participate. “I didn’t do any sports
when I was younger, so I didn’t think I could compete,” Hobbs recalls.
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National Veterans Wheelchair Games Go
Through Tomorrow |
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June 30, 2005 - More than 500 disabled
veterans, many senior citizens and baby boomers, will compete
through tomorrow in the largest annual wheelchair sports event
in the world, the 25th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The
games began on June 27 in Minneapolis.
At the Games, veterans will compete in track
and field, swimming, basketball, weightlifting, softball, air
guns, quad-rugby, 9-ball, bowling, table tennis, archery,
handcycling, a motorized rally, wheelchair slalom and power
soccer. Trap shooting, golf and a power wheelchair relay will
be exhibition events this year.
The Wheelchair Games, presented by the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Paralyzed Veterans of
America (PVA), are open to all U.S. military veterans who use
wheelchairs for sports competition due to spinal cord injuries,
certain neurological conditions, amputations or other mobility
impairments.
Actress Bo Derek, Honorary Chairperson of
VA’s National Rehabilitation Special Events, is attending the
events to visit with athletes and present medals.
“Year after year, the rehabilitative nature
of the Games provides endless opportunities for our wheelchair
athletes to pursue their athletic goals and dreams,” said PVA
National President Randy L. Pleva, Sr. “The Games also serve as
a stage where we can show the world what we can do.”
For more information visit
www.wheelchairgames.org. |
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It’s true—as a young man, Hobbs didn’t have any
time for sports. His parents died when he was relatively young, and his
after-school hours and weekends were spent working multiple jobs. A
fiercely independent man, Hobbs continued to work long days, leaving
little time for recreation. “I didn’t want anything given to me,” he
remembers.
That same sense of independence continues to serve
him well today. A combat veteran of the Korean War, Hobbs lives alone,
does his own shopping and cooking, and takes care of business errands,
all at the ripe young age of 83.
In fact, there is probably only one value, one
mindset, that Hobbs places higher than being independent and self-
sufficient. “I don’t give up, and I never stop
trying.” Because of that, and a rather significant birthday, Hobbs
decided to listen to his swimming instructor and enter the Wheelchair
Games in Long Beach two years ago. “I guess when I turned 80, I realized
that you should enjoy life, enjoy what you’ve got left.”
This week in Minneapolis, Hobbs is enjoying his
third consecutive National Veterans Wheelchair Games, where he proudly
holds the distinction of being this year’s oldest participant. Watching
Hobbs at the bowling event on Tuesday afternoon, his early scores were
relatively low, but they got better with each and every game. He kept
trying, and he kept improving. “Maybe one day I’ll be a good bowler,”
Hobbs chuckled. “I’m going to keep trying.”
Curtis Hobbs has discovered that he really can
compete, and regardless of his final scores, he is a winner in every
sense of the word.
Jimmy May, 55, has competed in all 25 of the
Wheelchair Games.
 When
he was 30 years old, - a paraplegic and combat-wounded veteran of
Vietnam – he decided to “give it a try” and attend the very first
National Veterans Wheelchair Games, held near his home in Midlothian,
Va. He is one of two veterans in Minneapolis who have participated in
all 25 of the National Games. The other is Leon Thompson, of Englewood,
Fla.
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