ASHTABULA, Ohio — The 12th annual Buckeye Wheelchair Games took place this weekend.
Josh Maley, the Sports and Recreation director of Buckeye Wheelchair Games, is also one of the athletes who competed. He’s an Air Force veteran and has been in a wheelchair since 2013 after he was diagnosed with a rare form of multiple sclerosis.
“Being in a wheelchair, it doesn’t keep you from doing things; it just makes you have to do things differently,” he said.
The athletes played modified versions of games such as bocce, table tennis and disc golf. Maley said that it’s a good source of competition and building each other up.
“They give all of the veterans an opportunity to get out, compete, socialize, a reason to get out of the house. A lot of these veterans don’t even have other ways or other things to do outside of the house,” he said.
Maley was named the Sports and Recreation director for Buckeye Wheelchair Games in October, so at the games, he both worked and competed.
“Now that I’m sports and rec director, I get to see it from, you know, the outside looking in and really try to establish these relationships between people because there’s a lot of people out here who these games are what keep them going,” he said.
There were nearly 60 paralyzed veterans that competed in this year’s games. Maley said that these games have saved many of their lives.
