29th Annual Veterans Wheelchair Games Scheduled for Spokane

WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A wide range of disabilities
cannot stop more than 500 of America's greatest wheelchair athletes, all U.S.
military Veterans who will begin competition at the 29th National Veterans
Wheelchair Games being held July 13-18 in Spokane, Wash.

"President Obama recently said that caring for Veterans and their families is
a matter of honor as a nation," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki. "The National Veterans Wheelchair Games highlight our nation's
commitment to our wounded heroes. The Games also allow those Veterans to
teach us all the meaning of heroism, determination and comradeship."

The Games are presented each year by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
and the Paralyzed Veterans of American (PVA).

"The National Veterans Wheelchair Games are the biggest annual wheelchair
sports event in the world," said Randy L. Plea Sr., national PVA president.
"From quad rugby to handcycling, power soccer to wheelchair slalom, the Games
are an exciting combination of competition, camaraderie and courage."

At the Games, Veterans will compete in 17 different sports, including air
guns, archery, basketball, bowling, field, handcycling, nine-ball, a motorized
wheelchair relay, power soccer, quad rugby, softball, swimming, table tennis,
track, trapshooting, weightlifting and wheelchair slalom. For the third year,
stand-up events will be held in archery and table tennis for athletes who have
amputations and choose to compete using prosthetic devices instead of their
wheelchairs.

The Games are an annual multi-event sports rehabilitation program open to U.S.
military Veterans who use wheelchairs for sports competition due to spinal
cord injuries, amputations or certain neurological problems and who receive
care at VA medical facilities or military treatment centers.

The 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games begin July 13 with a wheelchair
basketball demonstration in Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane, as well as
the 2009 Disabled Sports, Recreation and Fitness Expo. Kids Day at the Games
takes place July 17 at Spokane Falls Community College, where local children
with disabilities will meet the athletes and learn about wheelchair sports.
Track and field events, softball and archery will also take place at the
college.

This year's opening ceremonies will be held at Veterans Arena in Spokane,
while closing ceremonies are at the Spokane Convention Center, where many of
the week's competitive events will take place. Other events will be held at
Lilac Lanes, North Bowl, Esmeralda Golf Course, Whitworth University, the
Spokane Gun Club and other area venues. Admission is free to the public, and
the community is encouraged to attend.

Sports are important in the therapy used to treat many disabilities. For many
injured Veterans, the Wheelchair Games provide their first exposure to
wheelchair athletics. VA is a recognized leader in rehabilitative and
recreational therapies, and operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including
153 medical centers.

Founded in 1946, Paralyzed Veterans of America is the only congressionally
chartered Veterans service organization dedicated solely for the benefit and
representation of people with spinal cord injury or disease. It is a dynamic,
broad-based organization with more than 19,000 members in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The Spokane VA Medical Center and the Northwest Chapter of the Paralyzed
Veterans of America are hosting the 2009 Games. Veterans competing in the
National Veterans Wheelchair Games come from nearly every state, as well as
Puerto Rico and Great Britain.

For more information about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games or to
volunteer during the week, visit the Games Web site at
www.wheelchairgames.va.gov.

Media Inquiries:
-- Kim Byers, VA Public Affairs, (734) 845-3377

-- Mark Daley, PVA Communications, (202) 416-7681

SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

VA Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-461-7600, Kim Byers, VA Public Affairs,
+1-734-845-3377, or Mark Daley, PVA Communications, +1-202-416-7681