'I hope to be a Paralympian': Bowling in Dubai unlocked a dream for Debra Freed

For Debra Freed, bowling from the seat of her wheelchair has manifested some unexpected experiences and lofty goals.

Freed, a 64-year-old Framingham resident, is a disabled Air Force veteran whose 11-year bowling adventure evolved from competing in local tournaments at Westgate Lanes in Brockton to an overseas trip with Team USA to Dubai for the International Bowling Federation Para World Championships this past November.

“It wasn’t necessarily on my bucket list,” Freed, who came away from the tournament with medals from three of the four events the team entered in, described what was an unexpected opportunity.

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Collecting bronze in singles, silver in doubles and gold in mixed doubles, Freed took the lanes with four other wheelchair bowlers – Edd Hutchens, of Colorado; Shawn Beam, of Texas; and Emma "Toody" Perry, of California. The foursome represented Team USA against teams from Thailand, India and China.

The success overseas paves a potential road for Freed to one day take part in the Paralympics, for which she hopes to qualify with a consistent improvement in her scores on the national stage. She's currently eyeing a tournament in Tampa, Florida in February.

“Between 2024 and 2028, I hope to be a Paralympian," Freed said.

So, how did the trip to Dubai come about?

Freed has bowled with the New England Paralyzed Veterans of America Rollers at Westgate Lanes in Brockton since 2011. Maureen "Moe" Morrison, who took over the team in 1991 and has served as a coach and teammate to Freed, played a part in encouraging her to pursue bigger tournaments.

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"At first, I thought (the opportunity) was a joke because I'm not a scratch bowler," Freed said.

Regardless, she filled out the application and later heard back from Gary Ryan, the secretary of the American Wheelchair Bowling Association, who was reaching out to discuss the potential trip.

"If you need someone to go, I'll go," she told Ryan. "I have a passport."

From there, it was official. The Air Force veteran was wheels up on a 14-hour flight to Dubai, just in time to celebrate her 64th birthday.

“I have to thank (Morrison) for my opportunity to go for the simple fact, if it weren’t for Moe, we wouldn’t have a bowling league," said Freed. "Moe has been a primary part of our bowling league for many years and this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

“I had to convince her, though,” Morrison interjected. “I said, 'Deb, there’s only so many women wheelchair bowlers in this country.'” She liked her teammate's chances.

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The two recall there being only five women wheelchair bowlers at the World Championships among the 18 in the B group (in which Freed finished ninth), 18 in the A group and the overall group of scratch bowlers. Without many women wheelchair bowlers, the opportunity to compete overseas quickly shifted from a stretch to a reality.

“That was a little scary, but it was actually really, really amazing. It really was," Freed said of the experience. "My biggest hope is that it lets people know that you can do anything in a wheelchair. You really can. The difference is four wheels versus two legs."

"You want to play basketball?" she added. "Sit in a wheelchair and throw the ball.”

Freed is not wheelchair-bound, rather a "wheelchair user", and has been using one since suffering back injuries while stationed at Kadena Air Base in Japan in 1982 and once having "an argument with a horse and it won,” she joked of a horse riding incident in 2019.

The wheelchair, despite altering her bowling technique a bit, has never hindered her spirit and love for the sport. She lauds her teammates on the NEPVA Rollers for helping her grow: Denise Pease, Carol Fosdick, Ed Godino, Judy Godino, Wayne Ross, John Melvin and Becca Melvin.

“One of the good things about bowling is that we all cheer for each other, even though we secretly wish we get the better score,” she laughed. “We congratulate good bowling, I enjoy it.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: 'I hope to be a Paralympian': Bowling in Dubai unlocked a dream