The squeal of tires on concrete. The sharp clanging of a wheelchair rugby collision. A roomful of strangers who somehow feel connected. This month, Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit was alive with the sound of the 45th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. For the 500-plus veteran athletes who rolled into the Motor City, the medals are almost beside the point.
Forty-five years ago, in 1981, the Department of Veterans Affairs gathered 77 veterans for seven events, a modest experiment in what adaptive sports could do for men and women rebuilding their lives after spinal cord injuries, amputations or neurological illnesses. Paralyzed Veterans of America joined as co-presenter in 1985, and what began as a rehabilitation pilot program has grown into the largest annual wheelchair sports and rehabilitation event in the world exclusively for U.S. military veterans. This year, it found a fitting home in a resilient city built on toughness.
"We're gritty, hardworking, and we don't quit," said Air Force veteran Mike Romanowski, a Detroit native who now calls Las Vegas home. "And that's really what the Wheelchair Games are all about."
His wife and full-time caregiver, Stacy, is also a Michigan native and said Detroit was the perfect home for an event like this.
"Detroit pushes through, there are extremely hard workers here, and it's very blue collar and tough. That's what this city does, and that's what veterans do. They are tough," she said.
Over the course of the week, athletes from the Vietnam era to the post-9/11 generation competed in more than 20 events including softball, wheelchair basketball, rugby, archery, boccia, power soccer, table tennis, power lifting, and more.
Officials representing both the VA and PVA describe the Wheelchair Games not as a side project but as core to what recovery can look like.
"The Wheelchair Games is hard to put into words. … It is everything," said Robert Thomas, a U.S. Army veteran and PVA's National President and Chairman of the Board.
"It is a sports competition, a rehab event, and a reunion all wrapped into one. All with the goal of helping these veterans get active, stay active, and thrive in their communities. It is the reason I am where I am today."
Learn more about this event's mission and history at Wheelchairgames.org, or explore all of PVA’s Sports & Recreation virtual and in-person programming throughout the year.