#wheelchair athletics

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Wheelchair racing with a rib fracture? Ow.

Very ow.

I have potentially made some poor decisions

[rimbaudsleg]

Gently down the stairs

[cy-cyborg]

I realised my recent paralympics posts could be read as, "i hate the paralympics" kind of stuff and thats not what i wanted. Its important to be able to critisise the things we love, and the reason why i had so many strong feelings/opinions is because i do genuinely love and care about the Paralympics and disability sports as a whole. So with the paralympics due to start in a few weeks (the 28th of August) please, if you're able to, tune in, even if it's just for the highlights.

The Paralympics themselves have a lot of issues which I already talked about, but a good amount of those issues stem from a perceived lack of interest/care from the public and the idea that "no one will care" if things arent right for us. It's much harder to justify not paying the athletes as much as their abled counterparts when they get the same publicity, it's harder for the organisers and people behind the scenes to get away with mistreatment when there's more eyes watching and more pressure to fix the issues. The athletes deserve respect, they deserve equal pay (which mostly comes from advertisers/sponsors, which depend on viewership) and their hard work deserves to be seen as more than just a funny joke or inspiration porn tear-jerker. Engage with places that treat the event and participants with the dignity it deserves.

If you're in Australia, channel 9 will be showing and streaming the highlights for free, but Stan Sports will be showing everything from every event - which is an absolutely MASSIVE thing. The entire paralympics have never been televised in Australia before, its only ever been highlights and some of the games of the more well-known sports. It sucks its locked behind a premium paywall but so was the full Olympics coverage this year, so it's not fully unique to us at least.

As for international viewers, try and find where things are for you and if they aren't being shown, put pressure on your TV networks/streaming services to include it for next time, or to include similar things like the disabled events at the commonwealth games (for those in commonwealth countries) or other global disabled sporting events - which can include sports not in the Paralympics!

[batsplat]

casey is obvs funny with this rivalry stuff because on the one hand he's very 'well I don't care who I beat' (lie) and 'I don't motivate myself using my rivals' (also a lie) and then he's also repeatedly emphasising that valentino was ONE of his biggest rivals and he only competed against him a few years... like a lil side quest in the story of his career. Those Few Years where valentino was his big rival. whereas dani and jorge were his cohort so he did compete with them for a greater span of time... and this is technically true and does MATTER but it is also extremely noticeable in his output which rivalry he has the most thoughts about. and yes casey would say that this is because everyone ELSE cares the most about That One Rivalry the most and also his opponent being an annoying dickhead means it's the one he has the most complaints about... but at a certain point, it doesn't really matter, because there's still one rivalry you're talking about way more than any other. you can tell that he's at least given jorge's interiority a bit of thought, kinda went 'well he was arrogant but also Learnt From The Error Of His Ways and was maybe misunderstood so' -- but also he's not going beyond that, he's not examining jorge's soul, and he's not even doing any of that with dani. it's very much a rhetorical commitment to those other two rivalries. ultimately the point is that he's doing what he can to not talk up his biggest rivalry TOO much, because, you see. he Did Not Care That Much. (lie.) now objectively speaking this kind of framing literally does not matter, who cares which one of these was the most meaningful rivalry, but it's interesting that it matters to him!! casey's problem is that he is extremely sensitive and cares deeply about what other people say about him, but one of the things he's most sensitive about is the idea that he could let himself be mentally affected by ANYTHING, worst of all his rivals. they cannot be granted that much power over him. and all of this has kinda funny consequences in that he has pretty rigid patterns in how he talks about this stuff that are at times quite convoluted because he has to simultaneously emphasise that a) none of his rivals massively mattered to him, b) That Rival didn't matter more than the others, c) what That Rival did to him was completely beyond the pale, and d) none of that affected him mentally whatsoever. at most one of these is true. there are so many things casey wants so badly not to care about but it keeps spilling out of him anyway, this oozing sludge of resentment and repressed hopes and desires and frustration and longing and bitterness. he keeps giving himself away... he cares so much and he can't stand it

[missriyochuchi]

In case you’re still curious about the wheelchair skaters from the Paralympic handover ceremony, it’s called wheelchair motorcross, or WCMX, it originated in the U.S. and absolutely needs to be a Paralympic event!

[animerunner]

I got the news yesterday the company I want to go with can make the racing chair for me. (Plus size currently and will be in the hips for at least another 70 pounds = wider wheel base = something they've never actually tried before, yeah for being a guinea pig). And I got about as emotional getting that order form in the email as i was getting the grant acceptance emails earlier this year.

[glowtrait]

pediatric wheelchair with colorful spoke covers (inspired by the lover album artwork) i made for my girl, addie!

[sunnycanwrite]

What Paralympics sport do you see Barbara Gordon doing?

[haveyoutriedthis]

[jettison-my-gift]

God, no-one tell JKR about wheelchair rugby. Her head would explode.

[castielsprostate]

my hands hurt from pushing a wheelchair all day and i finally understand how jesus felt being nailed to that cross i think

[weirdstrangeandawful]

OH MY GOD, HOW DID I NOT DISCOVER THIS SOONER?!

I tried wheelchair racing for the first time today and it was so fun. I remember why I used to like sports. Things are so much easier when you aren't in as much pain!

I cannot express just how happy I am right now.

also apologies for falling off the face of the earth my chronic illness decided to chronic illness real hard the past couple days

[rimbaudsleg]

I think I'm in love

[from-the-notebooks]

Looking forward for wheelchair fencing

And we're done...

... no, wait, we're not

The Paralympic Games are coming!

[diaryofaninsanewriter]

Breaking Boundaries: An Interview with Kala Sridhar, the Indomitable Spirit of Inclusivity

Today, I bring you an interview with one of the most dynamic women entrepreneurs I know, a fighter who didn’t let her birth defect define her. Meet Kala Sridhar, a passionate cricketer, successful business owner, and ardent Rotarian.

India is a land of diverse people and stories, yet inclusivity remains a dream for many individuals with disabilities. My heart beats for every person who deserves to be included, celebrated, and empowered. Today, I bring you an interview with one of the most dynamic women entrepreneurs I know, a fighter who didn’t let her birth defect define her. Meet Kala Sridhar, a passionate cricketer,…

[animerunner]

Holy shit that’s my sport in the newest episode of Bluey. Definitely not something we get everyday to see representation in kids show.

And today was race day for me as well! So this just makes it extra special.