Day one
of competition was a huge success and
the athletes at the archery match were great! Today we had almost
30 athletes from 11 different teams competing in 5 age divisions. Everyone
was really excited to be out in the heat doing what they do best.
Emily Clarke and Carlos Quintanilla
from the Paralymipc Sports Club of Tampa came all the way from Florida to
compete in the NJDC and they were excited to be here in Arizona doing what they
love."I like Arizona its fun and hot!" said Carlos. He has been competing
for two years now and today shot the highest score for his team with 631,
"I tried my best and that's all that matters." Carlos and Emily will
be competing in other events thoughout the week including swimming, field and
tables tennis. "I like just having fun when I compete" said
Emily who has been participating in disabled sport
competitions since she was six. Congratulations, everyone did an
amazing job.
Want to see the results for
archery click here: njdc2012.com/Results.html
Starting everything off at the Opening
Ceremonies was Games Director Lane Gram, who welcomed the athletes to Arizona
and gave a brief history about the host organization Arizona Disabled Sports.
The Mesa Police Department presented
colors during the singing of the national anthem. After a “Welcome to Mesa” by
Barbara Chambers, Chair of the Wheelchair and Ambulatory Sports USA, the audience
cheered on the teams as they made their way around the MCC Track.
When everyone was finally in
place Councilmember Dennis Kavanaugh stood up and talked to athletes. He said
he was “excited to welcome everyone to Mesa and wished everyone good luck”.
At the end Mike Armstrong, owner
of Blind Tiger Martial Arts, came forwarded and talked about his experience of
being blind and how it didn’t hold him back. He encouraged the athletes and said
how amazing and strong each one of them is.
It’s the end of Day 2
and with six more to go get a good night sleep and Good Luck!
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