21^st Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games 

New York City, 2001  

National Veterans Wheelchair Games were held in New York, NY from July 1 – 5 2001.  This year 6 research study proposals were submitted to the VA Special Events Subcommittee for approval to conduct these studies at the NVWGs and three projects were subsequently approved.  The Director, Medical Director, Associate Director of Research, Clinical Coordinators, and two graduate students from the Human Engineering Research Laboratories conducted three research studies during the Games.  The studies included:  (1) “Determine the effectiveness of the GAME^cycle upper body exercise system to improve Cardiovascular Fitness, (2)  “Using Feedback From Veterans to Aid in Research Direction”, and (3)  “Application of a Commercial Datalogger to Electric Powered Wheelchairs for Rehabilitation Research”.   These research studies dealt with issues regarding an exercise alternative for wheelchair users, wheelchair maintenance issues, secondary injuries or impairments related to wheelchair use, and  electric powered wheelchair driving characteristics (i.e. speed, distance).  These research studies were approved by the Special Events Subcommittee for data collection at the Games, due to their direct relevance to the Veteran, the NVWGs, and the VAMC.  Data collection was successful with over fifty Veterans participating in the studies while also competing in various events while at the Games.  We anticipate submitting additional research projects for next year’s National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games held in Cleveland, OH and subsequent data collection while at the Games.