VA Games Sign-Up Underway

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud VA Medical Center is preparing for its ninth annual VA Games.

Recreation Therapist Leah Egan says the competition has had as many as 200 participants in past years. The success locally is being copied by other locations across the country.

She says, “As of this year, the Orlando, Florida, VA will be hosting their first VA Summer Games. They’ve collaborated with us a lot in planning and coordinating so that they can offer a local event as well. And nationally, there are several events that go on throughout the year; the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, the summer and winter sports clinics.”

The competition is Friday, August 11th. A feature presentation by “Monster” Mike Schultz, an internationally known paralympic athlete will also be included, says Egan. Schultz was an extreme sports star who refused to let a snowmobile accident derail his career. Egan says, “He created and built and designed his own performance prosthetic limb, which he now offers to other paralympic athletes. And he was voted ‘Best Male Athlete with a Disability’ at the ESPYs, this last year.”

Schultz lives in the St. Cloud area.

Some of the sports covered are rowing and skiing on an ERG machine and horseshoes. The competition is open to all veterans enrolled at the local VA. There are wheelchair and ambulatory divisions for each event. A link to sign-up is here.

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