5th Annual VA Event Introduces Veterans to Adaptive Sports
WASHINGTON – The 5th annual National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, taking place this week in San Diego, teaches Veterans with disabilities how to reengage in life through adaptive sports programs.
Sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the event welcomes more than 100 recently injured Veterans for a week of cycling, surfing, sailing, kayaking and more in and around San Diego. Veterans also have the opportunity to meet with Paralympic hopefuls and train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
“The Summer Sports Clinic is proof of VA’s commitment to rehabilitation to improve quality of life for Veterans with disabilities,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “The clinic helps our most severely injured Veterans gain physical and mental confidence.”
The clinic is open to Veterans injured within the past six years, and includes participants with: orthopedic amputations, traumatic brain injuries, burn injuries, psychological trauma, certain neurological conditions, visual impairments, spinal cord injuries and other eligible injuries.
This year’s Summer Sports Clinic is sponsored by the Veterans Canteen Service. The VA San Diego Healthcare System has hosted the event since its inauguration in 2008.
At 7 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 21, the participants will come together for a closing ceremony and video at the San Diego Marriott to celebrate the progress each of them made and reflect on how they can redefine their mission at home.
For more information about the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, visit www.summersportsclinic.va.gov, or contact Jordan Schupbach, VA Summer Sports Clinic public affairs coordinator, at (202) 664-3733.
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