Feser makes Paralympic debut in China
(taken from the August 22, 2008 Saint City News)
By Todd Pruner
Saint City News		    

Tara Feser is about to make her debut at the Paralympics after being so close for so long.T Feser

Feser, 28, from St. Albert, has been playing wheelchair basketball for 10 years, but she was just able to don the Team Canada jersey in an international tournament earlier this year and she's about two weeks away from playing in the paralympics in Beijing.

She said with the Olympics taking place already, her level of excitement is getting higher and higher.

"I don't know what to expect yet," she said. "Probably when I get there, the emotions will be flowing - it will be really enjoyable that way - but right now, I'm just really focusing on trying to put the final touches on my game and get ready."

Feser, who works as a recreation program manager for the City of Edmonton, had been at national team camps for several years, but the problem with her leg had been undiagnosed, making her ineligible to play internationally. She underwent knee surgery three years ago, but the problems persisted.

"I thought after my surgery I was going to be able to run and jump again, especially to go back to skiing and all that fun stuff, but no, it didn't happen," she said. "So then we went to really hard, intense rehab and that's when we found the reason why I couldn't run and jump like a regular able-bodied athlete."

One of her legs is an inch-and-a-half shorter than the other. Last year, she received her wheelchair basketball classification of 4.5 on a scale of 5 where the lower the number is, the more disabled the athlete is. The classification number of all five players on the court for a team at one time must not exceed 14.

However, she couldn't be happier with the game of wheelchair basketball and the opportunities it's given her.

"It's always been my dream to go the Olympics, the Paralympics, since I was two, once I started playing sports," Feser said. "I enjoy the wheelchair basketball game better than the standup game, because it's more aggressive. I'm glad that I chose wheelchair basketball 10 years ago and I'm ecstatic that I'm going to the Paralympics."

At her first Paralympics, she'll be joined by familiar teammate in fellow St. Albert native Jennifer Krempien. Feser has been teammates with Krempien since she started playing in the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League. I've been playing with her for 10 years, but to actually go to a Paralympics with somebody who's a good friend and teammate means a lot," Feser said. "I've looked up to her since the day I started."

January was Feser's first time in China. Team Canada won gold at the Gold Luck Beijing International.

"It was neat to see Beijing before we actually go there (for the Paralympics)," she said. "I'm sure it's going to be completely different. Just even seeing on TV right now, the venues have actually changed , but it was good to experience a little bit before we get there."

Feser wasn't able to be much of a tourist, but she hopes to change that in September.

"They kept us on the straight and narrow," she said.

"We didn't really get to go off and see any of the smaller towns or little village areas. I was expecting more of the apartment lifestyle. We were put up in a really nice hotel ... We didn't really get to venture and see the full culture and I'm hoping to get a little bit of that when we go back again."

Feser will also soon be returning to the classroom. She recently accepted a scholarship to one of four collegiate wheelchair basketball programs in the United States. Feser will be headed to Tuscaloosa, Ala., in January to pursue her master's degree in human performance, specializing in sport management.

"A friend of mine who plays on (the Edmonton) Inferno with us, Karla Tritten, went down two years ago to do her masters and she's now done, so they needed someone to replace her," Feser said.

She will, unfortunately, have to leaver her husband behind.

"That's going to be tough," she said. "He's going to visit as often as he can, but to keep his job, he has to stay here and I'll be down there. It's not too bad, because it's only four months and then I come home for the summer, then it's another four months. We'll work it out."

Wheelchair basketball at the

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