Chuck Aoki © • Loren Worthington

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I think it is important we know the motivations behind an able-bodied person who wants to work with people with an impairment.

What is the place for able-bodied people in para-sports?

I sometimes wonder about this question. Do they belong?

I feel the answer is a resounding yes. The majority of people on earth are not disabled.

So the involvement of able-bodied people is both inevitable but also important and positive.

The question then becomes to what extent should they be involved in para-sports?

Should we limit their involvement to solely support staff roles, such as trip planning, managing equipment, and keeping them away from the actual sport itself? Or should we involve them deeper, into areas such as coaching, and administrating, so that they can make real and potentially lasting impacts on the game itself?

This seems to be at the crux of the discussion, in my mind.

I think it is important we know the motivations behind an able-bodied person who wants to work with people with an impairment.

It would seem important that their motivations are the same as any coach who works with able-bodied athletes.

I spoke with Tracy Chynoweth, the former head wheelchair basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the USA, and a former assistant coach for USA’s Paralympic men's wheelchair basketball team about this issue.

Tracy is able-bodied, and he offered an interesting insights into his time as an able-bodied coach working in the disabled world.

One of Tracy's great points he made to me might seem simple, but it is an important one.

He said: “People always asked me if what I did was rewarding … meaning working with people with disabilities. I always told them it’s like any other sport – rewarding when you achieve your goals. It’s rewarding when you win, when kids graduate, when you see student-athletes grow and develop into young men and women.

“It's rewarding, yes … but that has nothing to do with the wheelchair.”

I think Tracy finds the rewards in helping his disabled athletes achieve life goals, as any coach of able-bodied athletes would as well.

He doesn't see the chair, so to speak.

I would describe this approach as being aware of someone's disability, but not allowing it to define your interactions with them.

Mandy Goff, team manager of the US Paralympic wheelchair rugby team echoed Tracy's sentiments.

When I asked Mandy what advice she would give to an able-bodied person about to enter disabled athletics, she said: “When working with individuals with disabilities ... give (them) all their independence and don’t assume that they need help until they ask for it.”

I personally think that if able-bodied people can embrace Tracy and Mandy's lessons, on how they can best interact with para-athletes, then they can go as far as they want to in Paralympic sports.

If able-bodied people are willing to commit to the success of their athletes the way Tracy and Mandy have, there is no reason why they cannot become crucial members of para-sport.

Wheelchair rugby for example, my sport, had four head coaches who use wheelchairs, and four who did not have any impairment.

I'm certain these coaches embrace the values Tracy and Mandy possess, and I do know most of them, so I feel confident in this assertion.

The top three teams were all coached by wheelchair users, however.

Coincidence? Or not?

What do you think?

Can able-bodied coaches be as successful as disabled coaches in para-sport?

Feel free to continue the conversation on Facebook or Twitter!

“I would be lost without it. Playing rugby helps me to keep active and gives me goals to work towards.”

Many of the stars of Canada’s London 2012 silver medal winning wheelchair rugby team will be in action later this month competing for their respective provinces in the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Calgary.

Amongst them will be British Columbia’s Trevor Hirschfield - one of Canada’s most experienced players - and rookie Zak Madell who will represent Alberta in the event which takes place between 17 and 19 May.

In the lead-up to the Championships, Hirschfield and his teammates are training five days a week and he believes they are in good shape for what lies ahead.

“We are expecting to make finals at nationals,” said Hirschfield who was made national team captain earlier this year having been a regular in the side since 2006.

“It’s an amazing honour, there is a long list of amazing captains before me so to be part of this elite group is pretty special,” he said.

A 1.0 classified player, Hirschfield has a huge love of wheelchair rugby, a sport that has been a massive part of his life over the past seven years.

“I would be lost without it. Playing rugby helps me to keep active and gives me goals to work towards,” he said.

At 29 years old Hirschfield is almost as a veteran of the sport compared to his 18 year old national teammate Madell, one of the rising stars in the wheelchair rugby world.

Madell played lacrosse when he was younger, and has only been playing wheelchair rugby for a little over two years. Despite this he has already won a London 2012 Paralympic silver medal.

“It was encouraging for the team to win silver [in London] because going into the tournament we were ranked fifth in the world,” Madell said.

“Also beating team USA was a big confidence boost for us.”

Madell said Alberta team training has been strong and he is increasing his own workload more and more for the tournament which will see Alberta field two squads.

“All competing teams will be split into two pools. Alberta will be sending two teams, one A and one B to fill in for a team that dropped out at the last minute,” explained Madell.

“I expect it to be a very difficult tournament for team Alberta now that we are playing in the A division but I am looking forward to a weekend of high intensity rugby.”

Both Hirschfield and Madell will be looking to take some good form out of the nationals, with both hoping Canada can go one step further than London 2012 at next year’s World Championships in Denmark.

“We are looking forward to the World Championships in 2014 and the team is hungry for gold,” Hirschfield said.

Japan's wheelchair rugby team comes together in a huddle. © • CorsonHarris Consulting

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The Council will be made up of current and former international wheelchair rugby athletes from all three zones, and will provide a forum for communication and consultation among athletes and the IWRF Board and its Standing Committees.

In an effort to ensure effective athlete representation at all levels, the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) announced that it will establish an Athletes Council in 2013.

The Council will be made up of current and former international wheelchair rugby athletes from all three zones, and will provide a forum for communication and consultation among athletes and the IWRF Board and its Standing Committees.

Ross Morrison, IWRF Athlete Representative and Board member, initiated the drive for the council in order to get more athletes directly involved with providing input on the game and contributing to the governance of their sport.

"Wheelchair Rugby continues to grow around the globe, and it's no longer efficient for the Athlete Representative to be the sole collector of information from those who play the game," Morrison told the IWRF.

"By having a minimum of two athletes from each zone sitting on this council, we will have a much broader view of the sport at all levels, which will allow us to better advise the IWRF Board and its various committees on what the athletes want and the game needs going forward.”

One of the goals of the IWRF's Strategic Plan is to ensure effective athlete representation at all levels of the organisation.

To help achieve this, elections will be held at each of the IWRF’s Zone Championships later this year where two athletes from each of the three zones will be elected to sit on the Athletes Council.

All athletes interested in contributing to the future direction of their sport are encouraged to download the IWRF Athletes Council terms of reference found at www.iwrf.com. Further details regarding elections and a formal call for nominations will be distributed later this month by the IWRF.

Chuck Aoki © • Loren Worthington

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It may seem silly to some that we can care this much about a sport, but when you spend most of your waking hours dedicated to a sport, it makes sense.

This past February, the IOC announced wrestling would no longer be a part of the Olympic Games after Rio 2016.

This news shocked and disappointed many, myself included, and led me to reconsider and think about what the Olympics and Paralympics mean to me, both as a spectator, and as a competitor.

When we think of the Olympics today, we think of Usain Bolt sprinting faster than any human before and of Michael Phelps winning more medals than any other Olympian in history.

(Trivia question: Can you name the all-time Paralympic medal record holder?)

But when I think of the origins of the Olympics, no sport comes to mind quicker than wrestling.

It was one of the original sports contested in 708 B.C. There have been cave drawings of wrestling found that date as far back as 3000 B.C. If this is not one of the most traditional Olympic sports, I guess I don't know what is.

Unfortunately, as much I would like to, I don't have much influence with the IOC. Sorry everyone. I know I'm a disappointment to you all.

But what I do have is my own personal experience with how much Paralympic sport means to me, and I can tell you all about it.

Since you are reading this, I'm sure you are all waiting on the edge of your chairs to hear it.

So here it goes.

My sport is my life.

I plan my school schedule around it. I plan my social calendar around it. Especially during a Paralympic year, like 2012, pretty much everything comes second to training and wheelchair rugby events.

I couldn't imagine my life without the Paralympics.

And I've only been to one!

When the news broke about wrestling being removed from the Olympics, I thought about how I would feel if wheelchair rugby was going to leave the Paralympics after 2016.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't even fathom not having that ultimate goal to strive for, that desire to be a part of something bigger than oneself. Being forced out before I was ready to leave.

The devastation would be like losing a part of who I am.

It may seem silly to some that we can care this much about a sport, but when you spend most of your waking hours dedicated to a sport, it makes sense.

So what is the answer?

Get rid of table tennis? Modern pentathlon? Rhythmic gymnastics? Trampoline? Boccia? The lowest classes in Paralympic athletics?

The merits of these sports can be debated to no end.

But I would say the answer should not always be about what needs to go all the time. Table tennis requires hand-eye coordination and quickness few have. Modern pentathlon is actually an eclectic mix of sports – go check it out, and tell me you think you are great at all five events.

Rhythmic gymnastics is an elegant, graceful sport that is much harder than it appears.

Trampoline … I'm sure there's something redeeming about trampoline, I just haven't found it yet. Google is still working on it for me.

Boccia and T51s and 52s work as hard as anyone to hone their craft. But that's beside the point.

Each sport is in the Olympics or Paralympics for a reason. Let's work to keep these sports in, rather than finding reasons for them to go.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to tweet at me, or comment on Facebook with your own thoughts, or if you know the answer to the Paralympic trivia question!

Chuck Aoki helped the US wheelchair rugby team to a bronze-medal finish at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. © • USA Wheelchair Rugby Chuck Aoki © • Loren Worthington

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The sound of metal smashing into metal may not seem as relaxing as perhaps classical music, or a glass of chamomile, but for those of us who dedicate ourselves to the most destructive sport in the Paralympics, it has a certain charm to it.

Hello everyone!

My name is Chuck Aoki, and I am excited to be sharing my journey back to Rio with you.

My sport is wheelchair rugby, also eloquently referred to as “Murderball.”

I played for the United States at the London 2012 Paralympics, where we placed third and brought home the bronze medal.

This has been my life for the past five years, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, and I hope through blogging, I can give a glimpse into what a Paralympian does in the four years between the Paralympic Games.

I am a college student here in my hometown of Minneapolis, which is in the state of Minnesota, in the northern part of the United States.

My goal is to become a high school teacher, which may seem rather mundane when compared to my current life as a globe-trotting rugby player, but we all need some boring in our lives right?

I kid, but teaching is my passion next to rugby, and I hope it will provide me with a career after my time in rugby is done.

Some may wonder how I live in a snowy paradise like Minnesota as well, and all I can really offer back is that it is home. And the people are friendly. And we have a restaurant called “Perkins.” For those of you who have never heard of it, I do pity you.

My personal story begins when I was seven years old, and I began to play wheelchair basketball.

I played for 11 years until I picked up the much tamer sport of rugby in high school,after seeing the film “Murderball” which stars several of my London teammates.

The physical, violent and brutal nature of the sport attracted me to it, which certainly may seem like a bizarre notion to many. I suppose being able to take out one's aggression and frustrations that come with everyday life, in a controlled and completely legal manner, is something that is quite beneficial to both one's psyche and mental well-being.

This is just my amateur psychologist talking here of course, but I personally feel more relaxed after playing, odd as that may seem.

The sound of metal smashing into metal may not seem as relaxing as perhaps classical music, or a glass of chamomile, but for those of us who dedicate ourselves to the most destructive sport in the Paralympics, it has a certain charm to it.

Well, I think I have rambled on enough, but I hope you have found this little bit of a look into what makes a Paralympian tick interesting, and I hope you come back for more.

In the coming months, I hope to go more in-depth on various Paralympic topics, regular everyday stuff, rugby topics, you name it.

If anyone ever has any questions, please feel free to ask, or give discussion ideas. I would be happy to oblige.

Also, if you would like more frequent updates from me, give me a follow on Twitter at @Aoki5Chuck.

Thanks for reading!