Biography

Victor Calise lives in Ozone Park, New York and is a student at St. John's University. He is an athlete, works full time, and is an honor student majoring in sports management and administration. When not studying or working, he participates in sports events around the world. Victor plays sled hockey for USA Sled Hockey and was in the Paralympics in Nagano, Japan. He has competed in tournaments in Sweden, Great Britain, and Canada. Victor recently returned from a ski trip in Vermont.

As a coordinator for Mt. Sinai Medical Center's Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Do It Program (since February 1997), Victor works with SCI patients to ease the transition from in-patient treatment to out-patient. The goal is to re-integrate those patients back into the community.

Victor's interests and activities: cycling, automotive repairs, restoration of classic cars, acting and skiing.

Award for Excellence: Victor is a recipient of the Anthony Parfundi Memorial Award for academic excellence.

Upcoming plans include marriage in June 1999.

What are the Paralympics?

The Paralympic Games are a series of events and competitions held every two years, much like the Olympic Games. The difference is that the paralympic games are for disabled athletes. The games are held in the same places as the Olympic Games, only about two weeks later. The summer games events include track and field, swimming, basketball, and tennis. The winter games include sled hockey (in which I take participate), speed skating, skiing and biathlon. The 2002 Winter Games will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is where the Olympics will be held.

Sports and Hobbies for People With Disabilities

Although many people with disabilities live very active and fulfilling lives, it is devastating when someone is traumatically disabled. Many disabilities are the result of spinal cord injuries and brain injuries. A spinal cord injury results from a broken neck or back. If someone fractures their cervical spine (breaks their neck) they can become quadripelgic. If they fracture their thoracic or lumbar spine (break their backs) they can become paraplegic. Many spinal cord injuries result from diving/swimming accidents, car accidents, bicycle accidents, and sports injuries. Brain injuries can result when someone is hit or falls on his/her head. A brain injury can leave a person in a coma, paralyzed or can cause a person to lose memory, speech, and/or sight. This risk of becoming traumatically disabled can be greatly reduced if everyone takes safety seriously. This means always wear your seatbelt when in a car, always wear a helmet when biking, skating, or skiing, never dive into water that is less than 8 feet deep, and always think of your safety when playing sports.

WHAT IS SLED HOCKEY?

Sled hockey is a sport for people with mobility limitations such as spinal cord injuries, leg amputations and cerebral palsy. They are seated on specially designed sleds with ice blades mounted on the bottom. They propel themselves with small hockey sticks, which have a hockey blade on one end and an ice pick on the other. The sport is played on Olympic sized rinks and follows all the National Hockey League (NHL) rules. It is played throughout the world and made its paralympic debut at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

If you want more information on the Paralympics you can contact Rich Deglopper at (716)847-8484 Extension 7327. Rich Degglopper works for the American Sled Hockey Association.

Victor's Annual Sled Hockey Budget