Posted on July 7, 2022
Tournament Brings Wheelchair Tennis Athletes to Grand Rapids
Wheelchair tennis athletes are competing in Grand Rapids at the 2022 Midwest Wheelchair Tennis Championship, presented by Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports. This highly competitive, local tournament hosts athletes with inspiring stories and all levels of experience – from beginners to professionals.
New this year, the tournament has added standing adaptive divisions for players with physical disabilities, giving athletes who are standing amputees, or have disorders like cerebral palsy, a chance to compete. There is also a newly sanctioned junior division and a novice/beginner division.
WHEN:
- Thursday, July 7, 4:30 – 6pm, Junior Wheelchair Tennis Clinic
- Thursday, July 7, 5:30 – 8pm, Up/Down Social (mixed-ability doubles play)
- Friday, July 8 – Sunday, July 10, Tournament play
WHERE:
- MVP Athletic Club Crahen, 115 Crahen Ave. NE, Grand Rapids
In over 150 matches, 40 athletes will compete for over $5,000 in prize money. National athletes from across the United States are competing in this year’s United States Tennis Association (USTA) Category II event.
Two new athletes joining in on standing adaptive tennis are Allison VanDam and Irina Bird. VanDam, from Shelbyville, played tennis in high school but was sidelined with ankle issues. After an 18-year hiatus from sports, and 19 surgeries later, her foot and ankle were amputated. Now 36 and with the help of a prosthetic, VanDam “has her life back” and she’s playing standing adaptive tennis with Mary Free Bed.
Irina Bird, from Grand Rapids, has phocomelia syndrome – she was born with one arm and her legs are shortened at the tibia. At 25 years old, she stands 3 feet 9 inches tall. Previously having tried swimming, she started playing standing adaptive tennis last month. Bird is really enjoying the sport and the people she’s been playing with.
