Rolling into the semis

Yesterday I had a unique experience that I should share. I went with the Swami to a meeting about wheelchair tennis. The goal is to increase people’s awareness in New England, organize more events, and set up a means of collecting charitable donations to help with the costs of the sport. A wheelchair that’s been specialized for tennis costs at least $2,000, and you can imagine that most people can’t afford that kind of outlay.

I heard about all this from the tennis pro where I play; he’s a certified instructor for wheelchair tennis and incredibly dedicated to the sport. He’s also a fantastic tennis coach. So when he was talking a few weeks ago about how much the chairs cost, I knew I wanted to help out.

The reward was getting into one of his chairs and hitting with a few real wheelchair players. I can report that I did manage to actually hit a few balls. That doesn’t sound like high praise, and believe me, I was pretty hopeless maneuvering the chair around with any speed or accuracy. But it was an incredible experience, and I feel really lucky that I had the chance to do it.

If those guys ever figure out a way to set up a website or a system for accepting donations, I’ll report back. In the meantime, watch some wheelchair tennis on Youtube! It’s a great thing.