Chattanooga’s annual water sports day for the disabled is a family outing. Participants are accompanied by family members, and many of those helping with the Sports, Arts and Recreation of Chattanooga event at the First Lutheran Church Camp on Possum Creek do so with spouses or other relatives or significant others as fellow volunteers.
Beyond that, the gathering gives the impression of a big family reunion, complete with the “father of adaptive water skiing” – Phil Martin from near Macon, Ga. – and a large shared meal.
All of that was the case again Saturday, when SPARC hit the water for the 20th time and had a record number exceeding 290.
First-time participant Montrell Crayton of Chattanooga was there with his brother, Terrance, along with Candace Jones and Nin’Aette Thomas. While Montrell, whose legs are paralyzed after two gunshot wounds 25 months ago, got to water ski for the first time ever, the others enjoyed tubing and swimming.
Jones and Terrance Crayton also rode in a canoe. They have a 4-year-old son who gets physical therapy at Pediatrics Plus from Debbie Hightower, the spark of SPARC, and that connection led to Saturday’s day at the lake.