Sport

A different view of life

At 16 he learned a mountain bike crash had caused irreparable spinal damage. At 25 Aaron Ewen tackles mountains on skis. This is the story of one of two Wānaka athletes heading to the Paralympics.

Aaron Ewen is sitting in the snow at the top of Mt Ruapehu and the feeling is hard to put into words.

Only six months after suffering a life-changing injury – and hearing those unforgettable words: you’ll never walk again – it’s an emotional experience to be in this environment.

For the first time since his 2013 injury, he feels free.

“When I first turned up to the mountain it was unreal,” says the 25-year-old.

“The fresh air and looking at the view, it was such a great experience for me.

“But man, I sucked. My mate spent the whole time picking me off the ground. Cheers to Cole. It probably wasn’t the best day for him. Thanks heaps to that family that did that for me.”

He left the mountain feeling sore and deflated. But that day ignited Aaron’s love for sit-skiing and there was much more to come.

It was important that he wasn’t treated any differently following his injury. His good friends still took him everywhere and didn’t bubble wrap him. His parents were the same.

“That helped heaps. I was treated just like everybody else.”

Fast forward to 2022 and Ewen is on his way to the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

It was a hugely proud moment to be named

Aaron Ewen has waited four years to get to the Winter Olympics after being denied by injury four years ago. alongside Paralympians Adam Hall – who is also from Wānaka and New Plymouth’s Corey Peters.

“I was stoked to be named in the New Zealand team and represent the Kiwis overseas,” he says. “Hopefully we do New Zealand proud.”

As a teenager Ewen was a promising mountain-biker.

In February 2013, shortly after his 16th birthday, he suffered a huge crash at one of the national rounds, sustaining a spinal cord injury which left him without movement in his legs.

He was at a race in the Hunua Ranges in Auckland. He was tired and he had a preventable crash.

“It was towards the end of the practice day, and I made a silly mistake,” he says. “I ended up wrapping myself around a tree.”

Ewen was lying prone on the trails. He was scared and in shock. He knew that he’d suffered a major injury and he couldn’t move. He was taken by ambulance to Middlemore Hospital where he spent six days before being transferred to the Auckland Spinal Unit in Otara for a five week stay. “They helped me with physio and adapting to life in a wheelchair which was mean, but I was still pretty determined that I was going to walk again.” Ewen was also taking on the mental battle. For a young man who had been fit and active his whole life, it was hard to accept he’d be in a wheelchair going forward. “I needed to stop being in denial that it was going to get better. About five weeks in I was still like ‘I am definitely going to walk again’,” he says. “It’s a weird one. Most injuries you can see an end point but this one there is no end point. “Half a year went by, and my old man told me you have got to accept that it is what it is and move on, otherwise you are going to be stuck in the same place. That was a turning point I guess.”

Ewen believes New Zealanders take ACC for granted.

“We are bloody lucky to have ACC in New Zealand,” he says. “I’ve been overseas to America and other countries where they don’t have the same system. I’ve met people in a wheelchair who are really struggling financially, and it affects their health.”

ACC has covered his surgery, his hospital stays, his time in the Spinal Unit and medical fees and continuous help with supplies, wheelchair equipment and home modifications.

“ACC has been unreal. Without it I would be screwed. There is no way that I could afford the medical bills and supplies that I need to live every week in a wheelchair.

“They have also bought me a car as well to help me get up the mountain which has been unreal. It is a 4WD which I have needed this season.”

Sport has always been a big part of Ewen’s life. He needed to fill that void during his rehabilitation.

He stayed positive by keeping active and hanging out with mates.

“I wasn’t positive all of the time. The longer the rehab went on, the better it got. Finding sports and hanging out with mates proved to be huge for me.”

Ewen moved to Wānaka for the 2015 ski season. He spent a few months at Cardrona Alpine Resort mastering the sit-ski. He loves everything about the sport.

“Skiing is a fully independent sport where you can drive up the mountain do it by yourself and then drive home which is what I love – it’s full freedom.”

He recommends anyone who has sustained a spinal cord impairment to look into Para sport.

“It’s been massive for me. Skiing is the one if you are getting into Para sport. Get into it and don’t look back.”

Sun shines on the cricketers

After the decision was made mid-week to revert the Junior Division 1-4 cricket competition to an 'intra-club' format to minimise Covid spread, games played on Saturday took on 'mate v mate' outlook.

And it produced some epic clashes.

Youth: On Friday, the Mt Aspiring Youth travelled to Cromwell to take on their Youth 2 squad. Cromwell, batting first scored 106/5 off their 20 overs, a good bowling effort with wickets shared across 5 bowlers. In reply, our lads chased it down before continuing on to post 169/3 with good contributions throughout, none more so than Matt Botting, cracking five sixes to make 31 from just 8 balls.

Div 1: L.A Volts v L.A Heat - in a repeat of Round 9 the two teams put on a great contest, full of boundaries and quality cricket played at the club's base in Luggate. Volts posted 215, Sam Harper continuing to impress with 72, then held out Heat who replied with 165.

Div 2: L.A Thunder v L.A Flames - for the fourth time this season these two teams battled out a dingdong affair decided only on the penultimate ball of the match. Losing the toss, Thunder were put into bat on a dewy wicket but managed well to pick up runs at the top of the order (Lucas Simpson 21, Nixon Dunlop 16) before a disciplined bowling effort by the Flames, including Cohen Spear's 2/8 and Tommy Cotter's solitary run off his 3 overs pegged back the heavy hitters. With 149/6 to chase the Flame's Charlie Lovelock (24) and Cooper Norman (37), ironically on-loan from the opposition, were the top scorers. The bowlers had

Luggate Albion’s division two teams pictured after their ‘ding-dong’ battle. a feast of 12 wickets including three in one Sarah Docherty over and figures of 3/26 from Simpson, making the chase an absolute nail-biter. With a four struck by Lovelock on the second-last ball a Flames win was assured. An awesome game by a great bunch of lads and ladies.

Div 3: L.A Heat v L.A Stars – Hāwea Flat played host to another tight tussle with just eight runs separating the teams. Stars, batting first, crafted 115/10, with great knocks from Hannah Radford (26) and Joe Harper (23) standing out while Lucca Billing's bowling (3/6) and Brayden Lees pouching five catches gave the Heat plenty to celebrate. Unfortunately, their turn-at-bat came up just short, finishing 107/12, Lees scoring 20 to complete a memorable day. L.A Flames vs L.A Volts - The theme of close 'friendlies' continued as the Flames won a tight match in the sun on Friday afternoon, the match showcasing the improvement of both teams, especially in the field. Volts, with a run rate that sputtered, posted 112 - Hamish Jamieson, noted as the stand -out fielder for the Heat. But with a fielding effort that included Harry Dixon taking three sharp catches and Tom Maling almost taking a 'screamer' (resulting in a cut mouth he played through) the Flames were made to work hard to finish clear on 132. In other club results, both Seniors and Senior Reserves had good wins in their run towards Koford Cup finals.

The Seniors v Maniototo Senior Reserves. Chasing 254/9, spearheaded by Tim Cotter's spell of 4/26, LACC put on a sensational batting display with JH Homer's classy 72 and Amanjot Singh's blistering 113 runs (off 58 balls) securing victory with 7 overs to spare.

Senior Reserves v Queenstown Senior Reserves. Batting first in Hawea our lads put on 204, anchored by Corey's 59 and mid-30 digs from Ben Simmers, Jackson Clarke and Guri. The bowlers, led by R. Duff (4/27) and Guri (4/20) then ripped through the Queenstowners for 100 - the final 4 wickets falling with no runs added.

– By Duncan Spear