OneStep
Closer to Home for Spinal Victory
The Official Publication of the
Kent Waldrep National Paralysis Foundation
Spring/Summer 2003
Wheelchair Bowling Devices for
All Persons and All Chairs
By Bill Miller
Former President Bush’s
“Thousand Points of Light” program
inspired retired engineer Claude Giguere to
volunteer. Several years and many community-bettering
efforts later, Giguere wound up volunteering
in Judge Donna Miller’s courtroom. It
was there that he would see a picture of a young
man in a wheelchair.
That young man was the Judge’s
stepson, Bill Miller, a quadriplegic on a ventilator
since tripping and falling in his bedroom while
in college, more than five years ago. The Judge
explained that before his accident, Bill liked
to bowl and she thought there must be a way
he could do so again, by driving his wheelchair.
She didn’t have the expertise to design
a device – but Giguere did.
With his trademark enthusiasm,
Giguere jumped at the idea to help. Claude and
Bill hit it off right away and they set out
to make a potentially universal device so that
Bill – and hopefully everyone in a wheelchair
could bowl. They started with a small device
that fit over the footrests that would allow
Bill to push the ball. Bowling in his powerwheelchair’s
top gear, Bill was fairly successful. In one
of the first few games, he bowled a 65. Not
too shabby for a guy who drives his wheelchair
with his mouth, by sipping and puffing a straw-control
device.
Miller and some of his friends
formed the “Quad Squad,” a power-chair
bowling group. The speed of the ball was limited
to the speed of the chair and the two inventors
realized the need for more speed. So, they started
working on a ramp-style apparatus that would
also fit over the footrests and attach to the
wheelchair without touching the floor.
After a few learning experiences
and ramp modifications, Bill went out and broke
triple digits with a 122! Pretty impressive
for a person who can’t move or feel anything
below his neck. A video of Bill bowling with
the “IKAN Bowler®” can be downloaded
from his website at www.lookmomnohands.net.
After successfully developing
the two devices, it was time for part two of
the plan: making them available for everyone.
Enter Vince Tifer, a retired
Tampa-area businessman and longtime friend of
Giguere’s. Miller, Giguere, and Tifer
formed MGT Corporation to seek patents on the
two products, believing this to be the best
way to bring them to market. With provisional
patents in hand, the group is exploring manufacturing
options and has contacted bowling giants AMF
and Brunswick, as well as wheelchair manufacturers
like Invacare, Pride and Jazzy. MGT has not
teamed up with an experienced executive named
Tom Muckle, who specializes in manufacturing
and distribution. Tifer, who happens to have
multiple sclerosis and uses a scooter-type chair
to increase his mobility, can bowl with the
pushstyle apparatus.
Miller, after a recent bowling
outing with his partners, had this to say: “Thanks
for a great afternoon. Can you imagine how much
fun people across the country might be having
with our products in a year or two?
“I know that some people
in wheelchairs simply don’t get out much
and when they do, there’s not much they
CAN DO. But, it’s truly quite remarkable
that I – a person who is completely paralyzed
from the neck down and dependent on a machine
to breathe – CAN BOWL in a true sporting
fashion and actively compete in a PHYSICAL sport!
WOW!”
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