Maria has been wanting to try wheelchair racing for awhile. I started talking with a few people earlier this fall because the NJDC will be held in July 2014 in Ames, IA. We would love to see Maria have a chance to participate in the games. So, I started asking around and trying to figure out where to start. We were told of GLASA in the Chicago area and that they had a track clinic coming up. We signed up and were excited to see what Maria would think of it.
The clinic was on Saturday from 1-3. The participants were divided into 3 groups, based on age and experience. Maria was in group 1 for youth that were beginners. The first station was sitting/fitting for a racing chair. This takes some time. While Maria and the other kids waited, they got to race in their everyday chairs. Skill and ability varied, but Maria did well.
Finally Maria got fitted for a chair and got to try one out. While this was happen, something unexpected happened. I was talking to one of the coaches and mentioned Maria was from Bulgaria and he told me there was another girl from Bulgaria there too. He called her over. Dana was adopted at 2 and now is 20. She really doesn't have many Bulgarian connections and was so excited to meet us. Her mom and sister were there too. Dana normally is a lead for blind runners. She was in a wheelchair because she had recently has surgery. Her sister is also a wheelchair racer. We exchanged information so that I could help get her connected with other Bulgarian adoptees. By this point, Maria was in a racing chair and trying it out.
According to the GLASA staff and former Paralympic racer Maria is a natural and has the right build for wheelchair racing. In fact heard some real positive things. Maria loved it! She is ready to do more!
After Maria got out of her chair it was time for the nutrition portion of the event. Maria got to make a yummy snack and had a lot of fun. In fact on of the coaches even gave me his card so that we can get training workouts to help her prepare for qualifying! Now onto finding a racing chair. Going to try a couple different groups to see if it can be covered by a grant or at least partially funded. A racing chair starts at $3200! Not sure what I will do if those options don't work out....might need to do a little fundraising for it.
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