17 Sep 10 by Nick Berrett
Nikola Sibley won every event she entered, broke three state records and came second in the Tracey Freeman Female Athlete of the Meet award.
IT didn’t take long for Nikola Sibley to make her mark at the 2010 Queensland under-age AWD athletics championships recently.
Nikola won every event she entered, broke three state records and came second in the Tracey Freeman Female Athlete of the Meet award.
It was an impressive effort, given that it was the first time the Woodford athlete had entered a major event for athletes with a disability (AWD).
Nikola has Stargardt’s disease , which is a genetically inherited juvenile macular degeneration.
She set records in under-12 javelin (breaking a 24-year record in the process), under-12 discus and under-12 200m, while also winning the 100m and 60m.
And there is plenty of room for improvement.
``I didn’t even do my personal best for javelin but I still broke the record,’’ Nikola said.
Mother Ann-Jay said event organisers were impressed with Nikola’s dominance.
``A talent scout from the Paralympics was there and they asked us if she was coming back next year,’’ she said.
Nikola’s team, Sunshine Coast, won the overall team prize for the meet.
The multi-talented athlete, who competes at Wamuran Little Athletics, will compete in the pool at the state championship swimming carnival from October 23-24, at Chandler. However, she said her favourite events were on dry land.
``I would have to say track and field because there is more opportunity to compete,’’ Nikola said.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Eyes on Paradise
by Chelsea Jensen
September 12, 2010
When 53-year-old Edward T. Rosen lost his vision for nine days after a rifle chamber explosion, the U.S. Marine was terrified he'd never see again.
"It was the most terrifying experience I have ever faced," said Rosen about the injury he suffered in 1970 while in combat in Vietnam. "It was nine days of not knowing if I was going to be blind the rest of my life."
Luckily, Rosen regained his vision. However, the experience, he said, has made him more aware of the importance of eyesight.
"I have longevity in my genes and I want to make sure I will have my eyesight," Rosen said. The Special Forces veteran said he recently began noticing some issues with his vision prompting him to take advantage of a free retina screening conducted Saturday by the Lions Club of Kona.
Rosen was just one of about 80 people who took advantage of free retina screenings held at the Kmart parking lot. Last year, the vision bus did not stop in Kona due to scheduling issues, said Lions Club of Kona leader Norman Sakata.
About 600 people took advantage of the free screenings around the rest of the island last year, and since the program started in the state three years ago, more than 3,100 people have been screened, Sakata said.
The free screenings continue today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keauhou Shopping Center, Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waikoloa Village Market and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea.
The screenings help detect retinal issues and other eye disorders, such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. It can also detect the early onset of diabetes in adults, Sakata said.
Retinal diseases have a devastating impact on vision and can result in permanent vision loss if not treated. If caught early on, damage to eyesight can be averted, Sakata said. While most retinal diseases are incurable, the impact can be reduced if proper care is sought.
"Sight is just so important, and this is a way to help preventable blindness by having it checked and stop it from getting worse," Sakata said.
The retinal screenings are conducted inside a 35-foot bus equipped with state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment, staffed by paid medical personnel and trained volunteers provided by the Retina Institute of Hawaii's Project Vision Hawaii. The organization is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) service with a mission to enhance quality of life by improving sight and preventing blindness.
The screening process takes about two minutes in which time a camera takes high-quality photos providing an internal view of the eye, allowing doctors to see the optic nerve. That nerve, which is located at the back of the eye, is responsible for sending visual signals to the brain, said Kimo Hodgins, a Waimea Lions Club volunteer helping conduct the screenings.
"We are looking at the focal point of the eye -- the very mechanism that deciphers what we are looking at and allows us to see," he said.
For Sharon Peoples, who moved to Kona in June, the event provided her and her husband, Brent, an opportunity to have their eyes checked and have those results sent to their new primary eye doctor for follow-up care, if needed. Although a little worried about some symptoms she's had with her eyes in the past, Peoples said everyone should take advantage of the screenings because you never know what might show up.
"We've got to keep an eye on our eyes because we live in paradise and we like to look at it," Peoples said.
September 12, 2010
When 53-year-old Edward T. Rosen lost his vision for nine days after a rifle chamber explosion, the U.S. Marine was terrified he'd never see again.
"It was the most terrifying experience I have ever faced," said Rosen about the injury he suffered in 1970 while in combat in Vietnam. "It was nine days of not knowing if I was going to be blind the rest of my life."
Luckily, Rosen regained his vision. However, the experience, he said, has made him more aware of the importance of eyesight.
"I have longevity in my genes and I want to make sure I will have my eyesight," Rosen said. The Special Forces veteran said he recently began noticing some issues with his vision prompting him to take advantage of a free retina screening conducted Saturday by the Lions Club of Kona.
Rosen was just one of about 80 people who took advantage of free retina screenings held at the Kmart parking lot. Last year, the vision bus did not stop in Kona due to scheduling issues, said Lions Club of Kona leader Norman Sakata.
About 600 people took advantage of the free screenings around the rest of the island last year, and since the program started in the state three years ago, more than 3,100 people have been screened, Sakata said.
The free screenings continue today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keauhou Shopping Center, Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waikoloa Village Market and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea.
The screenings help detect retinal issues and other eye disorders, such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. It can also detect the early onset of diabetes in adults, Sakata said.
Retinal diseases have a devastating impact on vision and can result in permanent vision loss if not treated. If caught early on, damage to eyesight can be averted, Sakata said. While most retinal diseases are incurable, the impact can be reduced if proper care is sought.
"Sight is just so important, and this is a way to help preventable blindness by having it checked and stop it from getting worse," Sakata said.
The retinal screenings are conducted inside a 35-foot bus equipped with state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment, staffed by paid medical personnel and trained volunteers provided by the Retina Institute of Hawaii's Project Vision Hawaii. The organization is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) service with a mission to enhance quality of life by improving sight and preventing blindness.
The screening process takes about two minutes in which time a camera takes high-quality photos providing an internal view of the eye, allowing doctors to see the optic nerve. That nerve, which is located at the back of the eye, is responsible for sending visual signals to the brain, said Kimo Hodgins, a Waimea Lions Club volunteer helping conduct the screenings.
"We are looking at the focal point of the eye -- the very mechanism that deciphers what we are looking at and allows us to see," he said.
For Sharon Peoples, who moved to Kona in June, the event provided her and her husband, Brent, an opportunity to have their eyes checked and have those results sent to their new primary eye doctor for follow-up care, if needed. Although a little worried about some symptoms she's had with her eyes in the past, Peoples said everyone should take advantage of the screenings because you never know what might show up.
"We've got to keep an eye on our eyes because we live in paradise and we like to look at it," Peoples said.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Triathlon benefits eye research
September 2, 2010
By Kate Carpenter
Swim 800 meters, bike 18.5 miles and run four miles. To add to those already intimidating numbers, competition and speed are also factors. While that may not sound like the usual relaxing Sunday, that series of events is exactly how more than 400 athletes are going to be spending theirs.
The Susan Bradley- Cox Triathlon for Sight will take place this Saturday and benefit the Eye Research Fund for the College of Medicine.
“At the University of Kentucky, there are about 30,000 eye patients a year,” race director Beth Atnip said. “There wasn’t much money being set aside for research of eye diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.”
The race is named after Susan Bradley Cox, 74, who is the Lexington Triathlon Coach for the Kentucky Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and the head coach of the UK Masters Swim Team. She is the triathlon’s swim course coordinator. She is also training to compete in the world championships for short course triathlons in her age group.
The event was designed to provide start-up funds for eye research and to inform the public about eye disease. Over the past eight years, the event has raised close to $200,000.
Dr. Sheila Sanders, director of Glaucoma Service in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the College of Medicine, saw a need to change the lack of eye research funding through a fundraising event. She co-founded the triathlon.
One area of research this race benefits is the study of the way blood vessels grow in the eyes in diabetic patients. In addition to diabetics, this research is applicable to other fields beyond eye treatment, such as cancer research. Because of this additional application, this research becomes even more beneficial to the community.
“We have a lot of people who race in honor of people who have visual impairments,” said Sanders.
Another major contributor to the event is Delta Gamma, a sorority that has made contributing to fighting eye disease one of its causes. They provide about 120 volunteers, some of them on site by 5 a.m. making preparations for the race.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” said Atnip.
This event will begin at 7:15 am on Sunday. You may still register online until midnight on Friday and on Saturday you can sign up on site from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. as well as 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m., adjacent to the UK football stadium. An individual entry is $70 and a team is $105. This inclu
By Kate Carpenter
Swim 800 meters, bike 18.5 miles and run four miles. To add to those already intimidating numbers, competition and speed are also factors. While that may not sound like the usual relaxing Sunday, that series of events is exactly how more than 400 athletes are going to be spending theirs.
The Susan Bradley- Cox Triathlon for Sight will take place this Saturday and benefit the Eye Research Fund for the College of Medicine.
“At the University of Kentucky, there are about 30,000 eye patients a year,” race director Beth Atnip said. “There wasn’t much money being set aside for research of eye diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.”
The race is named after Susan Bradley Cox, 74, who is the Lexington Triathlon Coach for the Kentucky Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and the head coach of the UK Masters Swim Team. She is the triathlon’s swim course coordinator. She is also training to compete in the world championships for short course triathlons in her age group.
The event was designed to provide start-up funds for eye research and to inform the public about eye disease. Over the past eight years, the event has raised close to $200,000.
Dr. Sheila Sanders, director of Glaucoma Service in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the College of Medicine, saw a need to change the lack of eye research funding through a fundraising event. She co-founded the triathlon.
One area of research this race benefits is the study of the way blood vessels grow in the eyes in diabetic patients. In addition to diabetics, this research is applicable to other fields beyond eye treatment, such as cancer research. Because of this additional application, this research becomes even more beneficial to the community.
“We have a lot of people who race in honor of people who have visual impairments,” said Sanders.
Another major contributor to the event is Delta Gamma, a sorority that has made contributing to fighting eye disease one of its causes. They provide about 120 volunteers, some of them on site by 5 a.m. making preparations for the race.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” said Atnip.
This event will begin at 7:15 am on Sunday. You may still register online until midnight on Friday and on Saturday you can sign up on site from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. as well as 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m., adjacent to the UK football stadium. An individual entry is $70 and a team is $105. This inclu
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