Hey Spokes!

It’s summer and you know what that means. It’s time for the Get Out, Enjoy Life 2012 contest with SPORTS ’N SPOKES and our friends Life After Spinal Cord Injury (LASCI).

Last year we introduced you to the idea of exploring your world and sharing those experiences with us by submitting your outdoor sporting or recreation pictures. And share you did as we received more than 120 photos from around the globe depicting your adventures of accessible hiking, sit-skiing, and bungee jumping, to name a few.

Oh yea, we handed out some really cool prizes too, put the winner on our September 2011 cover, and gave out a brand new wheelchair courtesy of Colours Wheelchairs.

Well, now’s your chance to get in on the action during the Get Out, Enjoy Life 2012 contest. Join SPORTS ’N SPOKES and Life After Spinal Cord Injury (LASCI) starting July 30 as we highlight the many accessible destinations across the country and beyond.

This year we’re expanding the outdoor opportunities to our Canadian and European friends. So get packed and be sure to check in daily on the S’NS and LASCI Facebook pages for a chance to win daily. Don’t forget to pack the camera and send us those outdoor and recreational pictures. You can win daily prizes and have the chance to win a new Invacare Top End Force 2 handcycle.

 

About The Program:

Each day beginning July 30, you’ll find an accessible outdoor opportunity listed on the S’NS and LASCI Facebook pages.  And, the best part is, when you comment on the postings, you’ll automatically be entered to win a prize associated with that event, program, or location. It could be a free pass to a park, tickets to a sports event, travel guides or accessories, or any number of exciting gifts!

To participate, simply visit the S’NS and LASCI Facebook pages.

SPORTS ’N SPOKES Facebook                   Life After Spinal Cord Injury Facebook

If you’re not already following us, click on the links to “LIKE” the S’NS & LASCI Facebook pages, and you’ll be ready to roll! Remember, to be eligible to win the daily prizes you MUST COMMENT on the posts of places and programs we mention. Winners will be selected for each post each day after comments are reviewed.

Photo Contest:

We want to see the places you visit and the sports and recreational activities you enjoy. At the end of the contest - Aug 10 - three grand prize winners will be selected from S’NS readers who share pictures of themselves getting out and enjoying life this summer. Pictures can be posted to either S’NS or LASCI Facebook page.

Three winners total will receive a Get Out, Enjoy Life Prize Pack that includes an S’NS T-shirt, luggage tag, and carabiner all conveniently packaged into a UroMed fanny pack. First place winner will win a brand new TopEnd handcycle courtesy of Invacare as well as the opportunity to have their winning photo make the September 2012 cover*. In addition, winning photos may be included in various S’NS and LASCI presentations, both online and offline.

Contest Rules / Rights and complete prize listing can be found here.

About our Friends at LASCI:

LASCI founder Bert Burns is a C7 quadriplegic who first read S’NS in his early days of recovery after a life-changing car accident.  “Every month as I was in rehab, I would go through the pages of SPORTS ’N SPOKES, amazed by the athletes they featured and hoping I could be one too,” Burns says.

In 10 brief years following the accident, Burns made his own amazing advances as a recreational therapist for the Shepherd Center and in a lengthy career as a wheelchair racer. From 1991 to 1992, Burns was featured in 15 consecutive issues of SPORTS ’N SPOKES as his results from international wheelchair racing competitions hit the newswires. Burns competed as a wheelchair athlete on a global scale for 15 years, winning many gold medals in international events over the years, including one in a 4x400 relay at the 1992 Paralympics.

Burns formally began Life After Spinal Cord Injury as an outreach program in 2010 after more than 20 years of working with peer groups and the SCI community. It’s a motivational program that takes place in rehabilitation hospitals and other locations, to assist disabled youth and adults who have recently learned they will be permanently using a wheelchair.

As part of the program, Burns travels five to six times a month and answers questions during the programs regarding dating, marriage, sports, jobs, and more. “They’re basic topics, but they’re the kinds of things you don’t even think about until your life is changed forever,” he says.

In 2010, the Life After Spinal Cord Injury program helped more than 600 medical professionals, patients, former patients, and family members with information, advice, and encouragement. Learn more about LASCI.

Life After Spinal Cord Injury is sponsored by UroMed, one of the largest urology medical supply companies in the country. Burns is also the founder, having started the company more than 15 years ago with the hope of making a difference in the level of urological care provided to people with neurogenic bladder, spinal-cord injury, spina bifida or multiple sclerosis.

So what are you waiting for? We’ve combined forces to help you discover ways to get out and enjoy life with friends and family this summer.  The places, plans and programs are all there waiting on Facebook; the only person missing is you.

*Your winning photo will be considered for the cover of the September 2012 issue of SPORTS ’N SPOKES provided the photo meets our image guidelines. Please read the photo qualifications and limitations to ensure proper photo quality.