Far West Wheelchair Athletic Assoc.
1677 Park Ave
San Jose, CA 95126
408-794-1444
www.fwws.org

THE ASSOCIATION

The Far West Wheelchair Athletic Association (FWWAA) is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization which promotes, develops, and organizes wheelchair sports for individuals with physical dis-abilities. It is the largest sanctioned Regional Sports Group of the National Wheelchair Athletic Association (NWAA) and includes the states of California, Arizona, and Nevada. FWWAA was incorporated in 1968 and operates under the guidance of a Board of Directors elected by the membership.

Far West was founded on the philosophy that people with disabilities share the same desire and capability for attaining athletic excellence and physical fitness as do their able-bodied peers, and that these needs are best met through comprehensive sports programs which allow each person to achieve his or her own athletic potential.

THE ATHLETES

Any individual, junior or adult, with a severe permanent physical disability who is unable to take part in regular athletic competition, is eligible to participate. Because of the diversity of disabilities represented among wheelchair athletes, each individual is medically classified into one of seven pre-defined classes which represent different levels of ability, assuring fair competition for participants. With the exception of swimming and weight-lifting, events are contested from a wheelchair.

THE SPORTS

A wide variety of competitive sports is offered including track and field, pentathlon (2 track and 3 field events), swimming, archery, fencing, weight-lifting, air pistol and rifle marksmanship, table tennis, and slalom - an obstacle course of ramps, curbs, and gates designed to test the competitors agility, strength, and speed in a wheelchair. Each sport follows the rules of its' respective National Governing Body (such as the U.S. Table Tennis Association), with adaptations made only for the use of the chair.

From local NWAA-sanctioned meets to the annual Far West Regional Games, athletes are provided the opportunity to qualify for the annual National Wheelchair Championships. Far West is proud of the fact that many of its members consistently earn berths on the United States Wheelchair Team which travels to international competition.

The Pan American Games are held biennially for Western Hemisphere nations. In Olympic years, competition is usually held in the country hosting the Summer Olympics. At the XXIIIrd Olympiad held in Los Angeles in 1984, two exhibition wheelchair track events were held for the first time in the history of the modern Olympic Games, add- ing a new dimension to athletic participation in the world's premier sporting event, Disabled athletes from around the world competed in the women's 800 and men's 1500 meter races, the highest tribute to the international unity and brotherhood of sport. Far West's Candace Cable received a commemorative bronze medal for her third-place performance in the 800.

• Conducts the annual Far West Regional Qualifying Meet (formerly "CAL Games"), held at different sites throughout the region.
• Co-sponsors the Northern California Junior Sports Camp for the Physically Disabled, a day camp designed to introduce and instruct youth in both recreational and competitive wheelchair sports.
• Conducts and co-sponsors other sports training clinics and sanctioned single and multi-sport events, including the Cactus Classic and Arizona Weightlifting Clinic and Meet.
• Offers financial assistance to athletes for international competition and provides annual subsidies to its chapters (local teams and clubs).Provides information and referral on wheelchair sports and recreation and other topics of interest to the disabled community.

A disabled California weightlifter holds the national bench press record of 580 pounds, and the world record in the event is over 600 pounds!

Two For West athletes smashed the 17 second barrier in the 100 meter dash, clocking in at 16.1 and 16.2, respectively, in the '84 National Championships.

The4 minute mark has been broken in the 1,500 meters, with a time of 3:59.7.

A California table tennis player is ranked among the top 100 able-bodied USTTA players in the nation.

Marathoners are consistently finishing the 26 mile, 385 yard course in record setting times. FWWAA racer Jim Knaub won the wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon in 1984, in a time of 1:47.10 - a full 21 minutes faster than Alberto Salazar's world record winning time in the same event!

A San Jose archer qualified for and competed in the United States Olympic Trials for the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

As with most non-profit organizations, the Far West Wheelchair Athletic Association has no independent source of income. It exists and provides its programs solely from the donations of individuals and corporations that share its belief in enhancing the potential within each person. Tax-deductible donations and volunteer support are needed to continue the Association's fine tradition and expansion of comprehensive sports programs and recreational activities for individuals with physical disabilities.

February 16-18

March 9-11