History
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, I was asked to write about the history of the Sun Wheelers organization. This request gave me many questions to ponder--who started the organization and why, the sports played, community involvement, levels of competition and events. But when I was asked by the Sun Wheeler President what did this do for me personally, it caused me to take a stroll down memory lane.
I reflected back to 1974, when I began to compete in wheelchair sports. By 1976, I had set a few national records in the field events and was chosen for my first Paralympic team. I was getting some coaching for a friend Wayne Whitley. We found there were other athletes in the area who, like me, were competing as individuals as there was no organized team from our area. My first Paralympic experience was quite devastating, but it gave me the vision and dream to want to become a world class athlete.
In my return, I shared my experiences with Wayne, and we started developing a plan that would require weight training, much more practicing and competition. We contacted three other athletes--Don Davidson, Ronnie Kirkland, and Roger Payne-- and met at my house in the winter of 1977. We devised a plan to attend more regional meets, with our sites set on qualifying for the nationals in California that year. We would formally organize ourselves as team with Wayne as our coach and administrator. Each would be responsible for his own travel expenses, but we pooled some money for team shorts and T-shirts, which would bear our lew logo--a wheel inflamed by the sun with our new name--the Sun Wheelers. The T-shirts were being sold and became a hot item at the regional meets we attended. And for the first time, the Sun Wheelers, were heading to the national games in San Jose, as all four of us qualified, and Wayne would be traveling with us.
We were successful in our apppearance at the national. Medals were won by most, national records set and I was chosen for the World Team to compete in Stoke-Mandeville, England. More impportantly, the Sun Wheelers were nationally recognized. Wayne paid his own way to attend the World Games, and this was much better experience for me. We returned with gold and silver medals and lots of excitement.
The Virgnia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation was beginning to expand its therpeutic programs. Wayne was hired to help develop the wheelchair sports program, and the growth of the Sun Wheelers was on its way. With new facilities for training and more promotion and exposure, athletes began to come out and experience wheelchair sports for the first time.
The following year brought about more travel--three regional meets, nationals, and I was chosen for th Pan Am Games in Brazil. The great achievement, however, was that Wayne was chosen to the U.S. team's coaching staff.
We officially incorporated the Sun Wheelers as a non-profit organization and the response to the need for help and better organization came from within the community. At the forefront were pioneers like Peter Marx, Ranny Randolph, and Marioin Morris. There were so many people involved in those early days that it would be impossible to name or recognize all, but the team could not have expanded and traveled as we did without a lot of people helping. Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation allowed for the real growth as programs were added, the Mayor's Tournament was launched, and the city even hosted one of the largest regional events in the history of wheelchair sports.
Skip Wilkins at the '82 Pan Am Games
Other athletes began to develop and were chosen for World Teams and tournaments. Don Davidson, Gary Blanks, and I were selected for the World Table Tennis Team to compete in Australia. This was an incredible experience and led to many more world teams and events by other Sun Wheelers.
Highlights for me personally--
--to have an organization that allowed me to train and devleop enough to become world champion
--to be selected for 15 World Teams, including four Paralympics
--selected as a recipient of the Jack Gerald Award as Athlete of the year nationally was a great encouragement.
Many of our athletes have been inducted into the Virginia Wheelchair Sports Hall of Fame. Don, Ronnie, and Gary to name a few. I also know that others will join me in the National Wheelchair Hall of Fame.
The Sun Wheelers have a tradition of excellence. I feel the greatest reward is to see the team continue to excel and achieve beyond what anyone could have imagined--not only in track and field, but tennis and basketball as well. I am proud to be a Sun Wheeler.
Alfred "Skip" Wilkins
