Putting the Fun Back in Sport

By Heather Kuttai Seib

For many of us who will read this issue of Abilities, sports are a very important part of who we are and how we live. It is a probability that you have been involved in your sport for quite some time. Let us trek back to the beginning. Remember what it was like to first learn your sport? For most of us the beginning was fun. We laughed at our errors and relished even the smallest of our successes and advancements. It was the kind of fresh experience we approach with fervor, like a child with a new box of crayons.

I want to talk about how we often allow the initial fun to escape after we become better and more polished at our chosen sport. How then does the game become so important that the fun slithers away as we approach excellence? It seems the more knowledge we acquire, the more refined our performance, the greater the chances that our sport becomes more complicated. No one likes to fail, so the more critical the competition, the more we tend to doubt ourselves. The medals or the top score becomes so vital that we forget about enjoying what we are doing. Suddenly stress becomes a huge factor to battle and is the toughest opponent ever. Most often, it is the pressure we put on ourselves that is the most difficult to understand.

As we approach another paralympic year some of us will be training to qualify for the national team. As well as the essential physical training, relaxation should be a big part of our preparation. Relaxation is not necessarily an easy skill to learn and we often need help installing it into our routines. I am referring to the kind of relaxation that allows one to focus on the goals of competition, rather than on one’s opponents, or the strategy of the game. Developing this ability increases self-confidence and plays a big part in the making of a winner.

I do not have all the answers, and I certainly do not claim to be an expert. I do know, however, that learning to relax, even in the most important of competitions, has made me successful. When I have neglected relaxation and allowed the pressure to get the best of me, I have been a terrible loser. There are now books available on the use of relaxation and self-hypnosis for sports. This may be the help you need to keep you and your performances from going stale. And remember, you are allowed a little fun.

Shooting has two divisions, rifle and pistol. Rifle has further divisions, smallbore and air rifle, and subdivisions based on the shooting position - prone, kneeling and standing. The competitors recording the highest score to total shots win the competition.

Competitors shoot in line, shoulder to shoulder. All events are shot in a series of ten, without interruption. No lens, or telescopic sights are permitted. Canada ranks amongst the best in the world in wheelchair shooting. In 1990 six national team athletes captured five gold medals two silvers, and one bronze at the 1990 Pan American Shooting Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1991 at the Stoke Mandeville World Wheelchair Games five shooters captured three gold, two silver, and three bronze medals, in addition to setting a new world record in the men’s rifle.

For more information on wheelchair shooting, please contact:
Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association
212-1600 James Naismith Drive
Gloucester, Ontario
K1B 5N4
Phone (613)748-5685 or Fax (613)748-5722

Heather Kuttais Seib is a freelance writer and is Canada’s premier women’s Shooter.

She has been a member of the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association’s national shooting team for four years. She thrives on the fierce competition at the international level, and ranks amongst the top three in air pistol and rifle on the international scene and is Canada’s premier women’s shooter.

In addition to her athletic pursuits, Heather is pursuing her degree in English at the University of Saskatchewan.