Many Air Force Wounded Warriors rely on sports to be an essential part of their recovery and that can be hard to keep up with during a time of social distancing and closed gyms. To keep their training on track and continue a competitive spirit, the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, or AFW2, will host its first ever virtual powerlifting competition June 19 on Facebook Live.
"With the cancellation of the Air Force Trials in March, many of our Warriors have continued to train as best they could," said Derrick Lepper, AFW2 Adaptive Sports program manager. "We rolled out virtual-training opportunities for them to engage with our coaching staff, and the idea was born to compete in a virtual competition."
Warriors were polled to see which sport they would want to compete in and powerlifting was the choice. Coordination was conducted with powerlifting coaches, AFW2 staff and USA Para Powerlifting to finalize the rules, guidelines, and judging.
"We wanted to give our Warriors something to keep them motivated and pushing forward during these uncertain times," Derrick said. "This is a great way to keep their training on track and build their competitive spirit."
The competition will begin at approximately 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time, June 19 and will be broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live.
AFW2 continues to host virtual socials on Facebook Live to help everyone cope during this time. Visit the program's Facebook page
