Background On Disabled Sports USA

A member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, Disabled Sports USA was established in 1967 by Disabled Vietnam Veterans and Veterans from the 10th Mountain Division to serve the war injured. Since that time it has grown to serve both military and civilian adults as well as youth with disabilities. Its chapter and national leadership still includes disabled veterans of the Vietnam war, including its national Executive Director who is a disabled Vietnam veteran.

Disabled Sports USA has 92 community based sports chapters operating in 37 states offering over 20 different year round sports programs. Sports offered include alpine and Nordic snow skiing, snowboarding, golf, cycling, rock climbing, kayaking, rafting, sailing, outrigger canoeing, horseback riding, shooting, fishing, camping, track and field, tennis and other activities. DS/USA's emphasis is on sports rehabilitation and recreational activities that lead to an active and healthy lifestyle. DS/USA also offers sports competitions and training camps that provide a "pipeline" for emerging athletes who want to train and compete for the Summer and Winter Paralympics.

Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project

For the past five years, since the war in Iraq was declared, DS/USA in partnership with its chapters and Wounded Warrior Project has conducted the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project. Under the program, severely wounded service members are provided the opportunity to learn over 20 different sports as part of their rehabilitation, while in the hospital.The types of sports conducted is determined by the veterans themselves. Utilizing its 92 community chapters, these disabled veterans can continue to participate in the program, in many cases in their local communities, after they have left the hospital and been discharged from the military; or remain on active duty. All expenses for their participation are paid by DS/USA including airfare, lodging, meals, adaptive sports equipment and training by experienced adaptive sports instructors. Expenses for a family member is also underwritten to allow the wounded warrior to share his or her experience with the family; and keep them involved through shared activities.

Programs are offered at the major military medical centers where the severely wounded are treated, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and Balboa Naval Medical Center. DS/USA also serves patients with Traumatic Brain Injury at Palo Alto and Tampa Veterans Hospitals. Since its inception, over 1600 severely wounded service members and their families have been served through more than 200 events in 20 different sports. Over 1,000 service members and 600 family members have participated. See attached schedule of events for 2008.

The WWDSP model is based on offering immediate participation opportunities as part of ongoing therapy and as part of recovery; followed by continued opportunity at the community level once the veteran is home.  

Sports is particularly effective during rehabilitation because basics of each sport can be taught in as little as one day. A quick, successful experience learning sport, helps to provide a positive outlook in the wounded warrior and shows him or her the way to an active and successful future. From this new confidence the warrior is able to progress in life in a positive way. This result is embodied in DS/USA's motto: "If I can do this, I can do anything!"  Currently, the Army Center for Enhanced Performance (ACEP) (a mental skills program based at Walter Reed Army Medical Center) is formulating a plan to conduct outcome studies regarding the effectiveness of WWDSP programming.

Disabled Sports USA Endorses the VA Support for Sports Festivals and Winter and Summer Games

Disabled Sports USA endorses the Veterans Administration’s support of the Winter Sports Clinic and the PVA Summer Wheelchair Games as top sports events that help disabled veterans become active and competitive. It also endorses the Paralympic Sports Festivals held for disabled veterans and active duty military at the US Olympic Training Centers. These programs help to introduce wounded warriors to the opportunities in Paralympic and other competitive sports programs.

Disabled Sports Recommends Expanding and Modifying the VA Sports Program

Based on 40 years experience in disability sport and recreation, Disabled Sports USA recommends that the VA consider expanding support of programming, to include non competitive,  recreational activities in or near the communities where the disabled veteran lives. These regular activities, integrated with the community, help establish an active lifestyle that will reduce health risks and make for a fuller life.

This also helps with the reintegration of the disabled veteran into community life. This recommendation is based on evaluation tools, conducted after every WWDSP activity, with feedback provided by both the wounded warrior, family and medical staff.

The focus should be directed to providing active, healthy recreational activities and lifestyles for disabled veterans, in their local communities and away from emphasis on once-a-year, national competitions. In this way will we all help create a generation of physically active, disabled veterans who are physically, mentally and emotionally healthier.

These activities should be supported in the communities where the veterans live and not just at selected national events that occur once or twice a year. This orientation will encourage regular exercise and a healthier lifestyle, since the activities are available on a  daily or weekly basis, close to home. They should include Paralympic activities such as track and field, power lifting and others; but should also include recreational activities that promote an active lifestyle.

It is our experience based on serving more than 1000 injured service members since 2003, that the new generation of service members are demanding a new generation of sporting choices. For example SCUBA, rock climbing, hiking, rafting, wake boarding, hunting, fishing, snowboarding, kayaking and other extreme endurance and outdoor activities are in demand.

Based on our experiences for forty years, only a small percentage of our overall participants actually engage in Paralympic level sports. This includes disabled veterans. This runs between 2% and 5% of our groups of both civilian and military disabled youth and adults. The vast majority do not participate for a variety of reasons including skill levels, time needed for training, family and work responsibilities and cost.

True to this model, the majority of wounded warriors that DS/USA has served during the past five years, want to stay active and challenge themselves athletically; but they have no desire or time to train to be Paralympians. Many want to pursue activities they love and did before their injury, with fishing, hunting and winter sports being among the most popular.

It is particularly difficult for those with Traumatic Brain Injury to understand the distinctions between who is and isn’t able to compete – with the potential to face disappointment when they are ultimately unable to compete alongside their comrades in Paralympic Sport.  TBI is one of the major categories of injury in OIF/OEF.

Many of the wounded warriors, who become disabled veterans with disability ratings from the VA, do not have injuries that would qualify them for the Paralympic Games. Thus an entire group of service-connected disabled veterans do not ultimately qualify for or benefit from the Paralympic agenda; but still need and want to become active again in sports and recreation.

VA Policy Change Needed

In order to do this, the VA will need to change its policy of only supporting events which are 100% veteran participation; and allow for participation in events and activities in which the majority of participants are non veterans.  This change would allow disabled veterans to participate in their chosen activity at their skill level; and not restrict veterans to what is available nationally. The VA can draw precedent for taking this action in the recently passed legislation with Department of Defense. Under that legislation, funding is allowed for active duty military who want to pursue Paralympic Sports at events where only 10% of participants are military.

VA Rule Change which May Adversely Affect Veterans in Wheelchairs

We would also like to draw attention to a little known rule change which we have recently learned is being considered within the VA; which may adversely affect sports participation for the disabled veteran who uses a wheelchair. Presently, paralyzed veterans can secure a hand-cycle as a piece of exercise equipment needed to promote fitness and health. They are also authorized one sports wheelchair to participate in sports like tennis, basketball and track and field.

We understand that the VA wants to reclassify the hand-cycle as a sports wheelchair. If that happens, then the paralyzed veteran may have to choose between securing a sports wheelchair and a hand-cycle, since they are only authorized one sports wheelchair. If he or she chooses the cycle, then that disabled veteran will not be able to secure a sports wheelchair to participate in tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheeling and other healthful activities.

Health Benefits and Reduced Health Care Costs

By expanding its sports programs to include activities that are recreational in nature and close to home, the VA will better serve disabled veterans, promote fitness, provide a healthy lifestyle leading to success in life. This is not only good for the veteran it is good for the government. Long term, regular exercise along with more healthful diets, will reduce health care costs to the VA.

Many studies have shown that 70% of our most severe illnesses including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and certain cancers; are due to lack of regular exercise and poor eating habits. Maintaining regular physical activity and healthy eating habits, will reduce these diseases in the veteran.

For the population as a whole, studies show that Americans are becoming increasingly obese and are inactive. Additional studies show that those with disabilities are even more unfit with higher levels of obesity and lower cardiovascular fitness. However, like their non disabled counterparts, those with a disability can benefit from physical fitness activities and can see health and fitness improve through regular exercise.

Costs for the programs recommended here can be contained by restricting support only to those veterans with specific levels of disability ratings and reimbursing for activities in which the veteran participates on a regular basis and not just occasionally.