When power lifter Mary Stack isn't bench pressing 260 pounds, she's pushing her motorized wheelchair.
While 4-foot-9 Stack is able to walk, she uses a wheelchair because of a disorder that affects her balance.
Stack is an athlete, coach and volunteer for the 32nd Michigan Victory Games, which are being held on campus this weekend.
The Michigan Disability Sports Alliance, or MiDSA, hosts the games, which provide recreational and competitive sports opportunities for athletes with disabilities.
A 2001 inductee into the Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame, Stack said she never would have been in sports if she hadn't started as an athlete in the games at 16.
While Stack, 33, wants to continue to compete, she also enjoys watching from the sidelines as a coach and volunteer.
"To see the expressions on the kids' faces when they complete a course, beat somebody in track or do something they didn't think they could do - it's really cool."
About 80 athletes ranging from ages 7 to 70 will compete this year, said Stella Husch, director of the games.
"A lot of times, individuals with disabilities don't have the opportunities to prove themselves or to negate stereotypes. Sports is one avenue to be able to do so."
Husch, who coached an Oakland County team for 10 years before becoming the director, said middle and high school sports rarely give disabled athletes a chance.
"With most schools, there's never an opportunity to get your varsity letter, or even to prove that just because you're in a (wheel) chair doesn't necessarily mean that you can't understand what everyone is saying, she said.
Nicky Niesluchowski and a group of his friends shouted "go everybody" as five of their classmates from Royal Oak schools plunged into an indoor pool at IM Sports-West on Thursday.
"We're all screaming and yelling and chanting because they're all our friends from school," he said.
Niesluchowski has been coming to the games for five years. His friend and teammate on the Royal Oak Charging Knights, Lilya Boomberg, watched the swimming races by his side.
"Anything that gets you active is good," Boomberg, a 10th-grader, said. "It gets you away from your parents."
The games divide athletes into divisions based on age and severity of the athlete's disability.
Athletes can qualify for regional, national and world competitions based on respective sports and disabilities.
Win or lose, athletes, their aides and families can dust off their dancing shoes at Saturday night's party. Awards and trophies are awarded Sunday morning.
Athletes, coaches and aides are each charged $180-$200 to participate.
Membership fees paid by MiDSA and National Disability Sports Alliance members help keep costs low, Husch said
At least two of the participating teams are sponsored by a school district and hospital because of the high costs members pay to meet the daily needs of their disabilities.
The event keeps life in perspective, Husch said.
"Every day, we take for granted the things that upset, concern or worry us. Then, once a year, this event provides a great lift that makes you realize there are so many other great things to be concerned about."
