Three Decades of Strength at the Wheelchair Games

Green studies photographs from past competitions, trains through the winter, and counts down the months until he can reunite with friends, test himself against other athletes, and add another year to a streak that has become part of his identity.

Green recently completed his 30th consecutive Wheelchair Games. Now, he is already preparing for No. 31, and this time, the games are coming to his backyard.

The 2027 National Veterans Wheelchair Games are scheduled for July 14-19 in Orlando, about an hour from Green’s home.

“You all know what it’s like coming into Jimmy Green’s backyard, Mean Green’s backyard,” Green said. “You’ve got a year to get ready. Don’t slack off. Bring your best to Orlando because we’re bringing ours.”

Green was injured in 1987 while stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was thrown from a vehicle that rolled several times, shattering his L1 vertebra and leaving him an incomplete paraplegic.

Green discovered the Wheelchair Games in 1996 through Terry Sutton, his Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) national service officer in Louisville, Kentucky. Green initially attended to compete and prove something to himself and others.

About a decade later, his perspective changed after his basketball team won silver. Green was disappointed, but a new teammate named Jesse approached him full of excitement and said Green had inspired him.

“That changed my perspective on the games,” Green shared. “Now I keep coming back to see new Veterans get that feeling I got.”

Green’s competitive fire remains. He has participated in basketball, softball, archery, pickleball, and cornhole. He jokes that he tries to win at everything, including video games and checkers.

The Games have also motivated him through health challenges. When doctors discovered a cancerous kidney tumor in 2004, one of Green’s first questions was how quickly he could recover so he would not miss the next competition.

As coordinator of the Central Florida PVA chapter’s Veterans Games program, Green is helping recruit and prepare a larger hometown team for 2027. Seven-chapter athletes attended the most recent games in Detroit, but Green hopes to at least double that number. When Orlando hosted in 2018, the chapter brought nearly 20 athletes.

The chapter plans to offer opportunities for Veterans to practice sports, learn the basics of unfamiliar events, and prepare before registration opens. Eligible members earn participation points through meetings, practices, and volunteer activities.

Green encourages interested Veterans to connect early through the Central Florida PVA chapter at pvacf.org. Applications are expected to open during the first week of February, and popular events can fill quickly.

Green knows that better than most. He once stayed up until midnight to submit his application as soon as registration opened.

After 30 straight appearances, he is not about to get left on the sidelines now.

For more information about VA Adaptive Sports and Arts, visit VA Adaptive Sports Arts. Stay connected by following @Sports4Vets on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X.

To learn more about the OVAHCS, please visit: VA Orlando Health Care | Veterans Affairs, subscribe to receive email updates by clicking here, like us on Facebook at: @OVAHCS, follow us on Instagram at: @OVAHCS, or on Twitter at: @OVAHCS.

Interested in supporting the upcoming Games? Learn more about how to volunteer and donation opportunities by visiting https://www.va.gov/orlando-health-care/work-with-us/volunteer-or-donate/. 

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Established in October 2006, the Orlando VA Healthcare System (OVAHCS) was designated a 1a facility (most complex) in 2021, with more than 5,660 employees and an annual budget of $1.5B and serves more than 131,000 Veterans in Central Florida. The Orlando VA Medical Center at Lake Nona provides outpatient, inpatient and emergency services. Lake Nona’s 65-acre medical campus encompasses 134 acute inpatient beds, providing complex Medical/Surgical/Mental Health specialty care, advanced diagnostic services, and a large multispecialty outpatient clinic, as well as a 120-bed Community Living Center, two Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs/Domiciliaries (60-beds located at the Lake Nona Campus and 58-beds at the Lake Baldwin Campus). Outpatient services are provided at a Health Care Center in Viera, a Multispecialty Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Daytona Beach, Lake Baldwin and five Community-Based Outpatient Clinics located in Clermont, Kissimmee, Deltona, Palm Bay and Tavares.