As Kurt Walti moved the wheels of his chair quickly to speed past others, he took a hard right around the first corner. Taking a screeching left and a sharp right, Walti raced forward to cross the finish line with the fastest time, making the junior and chemical engineering major the winner of the Mario Kart wheelchair race.
A group of students flooded into the basketball courts at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center Wednesday afternoon and were greeted with smiling faces, loud Mario Kart music and a Kind Bar to snack on after their competition.
The Mario Kart wheelchair race was conducted by Sean Pallerin, recreation sports coordinator, Divine Cahola, inclusive lead and Jack Morehart, intramural lead, to raise awareness for people with disabilities and for students to get an understanding of what it’s like to be in a wheelchair.
According to Pallerin, the goal of this event was to get students at a commuter school more involved and engaged with their campus. He wants students to understand what it takes to be in a wheelchair while making the event enjoyable and fun.
With the goal of winning a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, students raced around the basketball court and quickly whipped around the corners of the obstacle course, which involved multiple orange cones and twists and turns.
Able-bodied students who participated in the competition were surprised to learn that riding in a wheelchair is harder than it looks.
“This is my first time in a wheelchair,” said Brian Sousa, junior recreation and leisure studies major. “I thought it was going to go faster, but it’s a lot harder than I expected. People make it look a lot easier on TV, but they are obviously more used to it.”
At the starting line, excited students put on their respective hats from characters from the popular video game: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach or Yoshi. Students racing in the wheelchairs had red, green or pink balloons attached to the back to match their character as students took off in the race for first place.
Students laughed and joked that the hats were to blame for some students not winning because they fell off during the race, making the competition even harder and more competitive. The take off at the starting line looked to be the hardest, but students got the hang of it as they started turning each sharp corner.
“I think it’s interesting for people who are able-bodied to get the experience of moving in a wheelchair,” said Javier Elias, a second year grad student pursuing a masters degree in counseling. “This event shines the light of what using a wheelchair is like. We don’t tell people who are walking that they are doing it well.”
Although the event was meant to teach people about those in wheelchairs, there were no disabled students at the event.
The students who decided to get involved took advantage of the social aspect and fun of the event. The majority of the students stuck around and raced multiple times, trying to improve each time.
“A lot of us are lucky to do what we do with our legs,” Pallerin said. “This event is to understand that there’s a whole other world that people aren’t aware of.”