The Triumph Foundation hosted its 12th annual Wheelchair Sports event last weekend, with crowds of people playing rugby, hockey or dancing – in wheelchairs.
Andrew Skinner, founder of Triumph Foundation, created the foundation after his own accident that affected his spinal cord, causing him to end up in a wheelchair.
“And so, after I got hurt and got to a good place in my own place in my own personal life, I wanted to help others. And so, Triumph Foundation got started about four or five years after my initial injury in 2008. And our programs have just grown as we identified different gaps that weren’t being met,” Skinner said.
Skinner said he believes the importance of these events is that they help people come to terms with their new identity and see what they are truly capable of doing.
“Sports are also a great way of breaking down barriers. This event is all inclusive, meaning if you have a disability or not, you’re playing in the games. And so, when you come to an event like this, you make friends,” Skinner said.
With attendees playing rugby in the background and smashing wheelchairs against each other, the crowds watching were clapping and waiting in anticipation of which team would win.
Skinner was smiling looking at the players having a great time.
The event had sitting volleyball, a sport that was very popular among attendees.
Elaine Donald, a volunteer who has been part of the foundation for over 10 years, is a volleyball coach from Ventura County, originally from Glasgow, Scotland.
“I’ve been coaching volleyball for over 20 years now and in 2011, I found an adaptive version of the game and I’ve been hooked ever since. I like being able to help people play the sport that I love and figure out a way for them to do that,” Donald said.
People who played had to sit down and use a smaller court and hit the ball over the net.
One first-time attendee, Rachel-Irene Faulkner, played a variety of sports and was grateful that the event exists since she has only lived in California since September.
Faulkner played rugby, archery, basketball and hand cycling.
“It really brings together able-bodied people and people in wheelchairs to try out different things and just to get a sense of what it is like to do all these different sports. And there is so much outreach,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner has said that Triumph has made a big impact on her.
She recalled one instance in which she was able to get a new wheelchair after her other one broke.
“Whenever I was getting a new chair, and just having a place that not just works OK, but something that fits you well, is so important because it gives you that independence that you don’t have with an ill-fitting chair that typically you get whenever something breaks,” Faulkner said.
