The excitement is building in Lima, Peru, as more than 1,850 athletes assemble for the Parapan American Games. These amazing athletes will be battling in 17 different sports – which is two more than the Toronto Games in 2015 and is a new record as the most significant Games ever. The Games will run from August 23 through September 1st. Lima will be filled with mobility van conversions to transport the disabled athletes and spectators to the various event venues throughout the Games.
IWBF: The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation
One of the games at the Parapan American Games will be Wheelchair Basketball, sponsored by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. First played in the U.S. back in 1946, the games were developed by service personnel who were injured during World War II. Most players were former athletes who wanted to continue playing the game of basketball and didn’t want a wheelchair to impede their desire.
In wheelchair basketball, players score points by shooting into the opposing team’s basket, and the team with the most points wins. The basket is the same height as regular basketball – 10 feet, along with a 24-second clock which is also the same as college and professional basketball. There are even a 3-point line and a 3-point score, making the game as exciting as any other basketball game. Other wheelchair sports competitions include wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.
Multiple Paralympic Sports Disciplines
Wheelchair basketball is only one of the 17 sports that athletes will be competing in the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima. Swimming is a sport with a large number of medals up for grabs, and both male and female swimmers will be testing their abilities and skills in freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke and medley events.
Swimming for those with disabilities first started in 1960 in Rome during the first Paralympic Games and has blossomed in popularity. The limitations can include physical, visual or intellectual impairment, and the rules are modified to accommodate different starting platforms or in-water starts for various athletes. There is a standard 50-meter, 8-lane pool, and swimmers who are blind have an assistant to help him or her when making turns at the wall or when finishing the race. The assistants are known as “tappers,” because they tap the blind swimmer to signal them.
Cycling is another spectator sport that is watched by large crowds, and in the 20-2016 Paralympic Games in 2016 in Rio, 230 athletes competed in 18 medal events on the track, and an additional 33 medal events on road cycling. After the athletics and swimming competitions, cycling is the sport with the most medals in competition.
Cycling features time trials, individual races, and races for teams as well. Paracycling has been around since 1984. It has grown to include athletes with cerebral palsy, amputated limbs, and other physical disabilities. There are even events for blind cyclists, who compete with a sighted partner. These events are under the supervision of IBSF, which is the International Blind Sports Federation.
Other sports matches planned for Lima in August include athletics, badminton, boccia, football, both 5-aside and 7-aside, goalball for people without sight, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, table tennis, taekwondo, and shooting.
It is exhilarating to watch these athletes compete with one another, finding ways to overcome their disabilities and using their energy and strength to make the sports competitions as exciting as any other sporting event. Their determination and courage are an inspiration to us all.
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