Adaptive Sports Gear

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Mike couldn’t have gone from the guy who does it all to, well, the guy who does it all (just differently) without some seriously innovative adaptive sports gear. Living with a disability doesn’t mean you have to stay on the sidelines. Here’s a gallery for those who want to gain (or regain) their athletic freedom.

 

Sailing: Mike was reintroduced to sailing through the Chuck Strange Foundation’s Sonar, a 23’ Paralympic Class boat popular with disabled sailors, and has since raced in local and national regattas whenever he can find a willing crew. He has also sailed a 2.4m, a Freedom Independence, and says he would like to try the new SKUD 18.

 

Golf: Mike took a fourteen year hiatus from the game because he didn’t know it was still possible for him to play. At the National Veterans Wheelchair Games several years ago, he attended an adaptive golf clinic and learned that there were modified clubs, grips and carts available that let quads, paras and amputees get back on the course. Carts such as the Solorider, Paragolfer and others like the EZGO Eagle are designed to go from tee to green and allow a golfer to swivel and elevate to hit a shot anywhere on the course. While adaptive clubs are also available, most disabled golfers prefer to use regular clubs. Mike recently worked with Hanger Prosthetics to design and build a custom, carbon fiber grip that allows him (a quad with limited hand and finger function) to grasp a club and take a full swing. Disabled Sports USA has an old article that discusses the game and has a few links to help you learn more about clubs, carts, grips, rules and other adaptive devices. The rest, he says, is up to you.

 

Racing: Racing has been Mike’s favorite sport for decades. In 1990, racing pioneer, Bob Hall, introduced Mike to a four wheeled racer.  Several months later, after a visit to Bob’s Boston, Massachusetts, fabrication shop and a few lessons on the MIT track, he was hooked. Since, Mike has raced hundreds of races, including the Boston Marathon. Racing chairs are made by builders such as Top End and Eagle and special equipment like racing gloves by Harness or Sportaid are needed, as well.

 

Check out the gallery below to see some of this adaptive sports gear in action:

  • Racing chairs can be used both on the road and track. A steering mechanism attached to the front wheel guides the chair through the corners.
  • My first racing chair was built in 1990. It had 4 wheels, poor braking and the tendency to tip over sideways. This was before technology and aerodynamics changed the game. Oh, one more thing, thankfully helmets have evolved, too.
  • Here's my current racing machine. Heat treated aluminum, custom measurements, carbon fiber wheels and a tendency to go nearly 45 mph downhill.
  • A wider ski and a fixed seating cage allow the disabled to water ski. Competitions include slalom, trick and jumping. I just like jumping the wake and not falling.
  • When wheelchair rugby (aka MURDERBALL) was first played, we used our everyday chairs. Falling was common. And painful.
  • Current rugby chairs are reinforced and built to take a beating. Think "Mad Max" meets disability. They are built to be either offensive or defensive. Here I am playing with my favorite bunch of New Zealanders.
  • Mono-skiing is a popular winter sport. I'm using a wider "bi-unique" ski with a custom seating cage and outriggers. The really good skiers use one regular ski and the seating cages are built with custom shock absorbers. On my bucket list is learning to cross-country ski. That's an entirely different world of hurt.
  • I recently discovered the peace that comes with adapted kayaking. Because of my injury level, I use custom built paddle grips and fixed outriggers to keep me from flipping. Check out a company called "Creating Ability" for solutions.
  • It looks complicated and it is. I'm sailing a Paralympic class boat called the Sonar. With adaptations that include a custom swivel seat and a tiller extension, I leave my chair on the dock and compete evenly against able bodied sailors.
  • Here's another view of the three person Sonar. Each crew member has a varying level of disability. The disabled also compete in the 2.4m class and SCUD class.
  • Here's what one of Paralympian Jen French's old Sonar cockpit looks like. Her seat was moldeled after a NASCAR Sprint Cup cockpit. Jen and I have similar injury levels and we usually are assigned to “drive” the boat. We get the fun job!
  • 9-ball is played with similar rules and regulations. Because my disability limits my grip, I use a strap to hold the cue. And, no, this image isn't backwards, I'm a lefty.
  • For over 2 decades I have "stood" in a machine called a standing frame called the "Easy Stand." The passive exercise helps with circulation, bone density and morale. Morale? Standing helps me remember I'm tall.
  • Golf is best played in an adaptive cart like the one you see here. They are allowed all over the fairways and on the greens but not in the traps. SolorRiders, Golf Xpress Carts and ParaGolf Carts are the three most common. I use a carbon fiber glove to grip the woods and irons and put with a different grip. Golf is still as difficult as it ever was!
  • Field events for the disabled include shot, discus, javelin and club for the highest level injuries. We throw from a fixed, seated position. Because I have no grip, I actually tape my balance hand to a pole to give me the ability to pull my body through the motion.
  • Here's a throwing chair and me attempting to make the javelin fly. I learned the hard way that if the point doesn't stick then the thrower doesn't get a mark. Three bad attempts? Let's not go there.
  • Handcycling is one of the fastest growing adaptive sports in the world. I race in a reclined seated position with modified grips (check out quadgrips.com), shifters and brakes. I designed a left elbow brake (pictured below) and it makes it easy for me to control speeds.
  • Here's a great shot of my invented elbow brake on the left side so I can slow/stop without removing my hands from the cranks and modified hand pedals called "Quad Grips" allow me to shift and move throwing the entire pedal stroke without losing power. The reclined/recumbent seating position allows me to isolate and maximize the muscles needed to cruise along at, well, let's just say a good enough speed.
  • When you want to take your regular chair "off road" (for camping, yard work and/or to cheer crazy Warrior Dash athletes), a small device called the "Free Wheel" clips to the foot tray and makes things easier. It has revolutionized manual mobility for those of us once trapped on pavement.
  • My solution to getting in and out of the kayak solo (and also with helpers). I mounted a Sure Hands lift to the dock and built a grabbing rail around it. In a nutshell, getting out, I basically paddle under the grabbing "arms," hook under my knees and use the wired remote control to activate the lift. Once above and clear of the kayak I swing around using the rail then lower myself into the chair. To get in the kayak, it's the opposite.