Royce Andes was living his life, enjoying his wife, 2 young children (Neal and Leah, as in Princess Leah of Star Wars fame:) and the sport of barefoot waterSkiing when "life" unexpectedly happened to him.  Royce was permanently injured while barefooting.  His level of injury is one vertebrae lower than Christopher Reeve (of Superman fame).  Royce has no more mobility than Chris Reeve, but he breathes on his own, no ventilator.  He uses a "sip & puff" electric wheelchair to get around.  

The last time Royce ever held Leah in his arms she was 8 months old, today she's in her second year at Chico State, Nick just graduated from the same school.

It'd be real easy to hate the sport that permanently altered your life, but Royce is, and always has been, an exceptional human being. He's a lover of life and a giver.

From his wheelchair, using a mouth held pen, Royce designed the first American sit ski . . . the Kan Ski.  Using Royce's computer design, friends built the first Kan Skis on his porch.  When they were ready for testing he mo-zied over to Chico State and asked who wanted to try his adaptive equipment. Chico State student Bill Bowness, an avid sportsman and wheelchair user jumped at the opportunity, fellow student Steve Hornsey was right behind Bill.

Royce basically birthed adaptive waterSkiing for wheelchair users here in the US.  From such humble beginnings American sit ski athletes have gone on to dominate World Competition in the sit ski events:)  

That's only a fraction of what Royce has done for the sport of waterSkiing, particularly waterSkiers with disabilities.  To this day he attends training camps, coaches skiers, creates waterSki athletes, introduces newcomers to the sport, and models The Secret of Life. (The Secret of Life is 10 words, 2 letters each.)

It is no wonder then that in 1995 the WaterSkiers with Disabilities Association created the Royce Andes Award, given to a first year skier who, skiing performance aside, models the Royce Andes attitude, encouraging others, bringing new people into the sport, and being a good sport.

Royce still enjoys life, he's very proud of his children and his skiers, and he gets out on the water once or twice a year for a ski ride.  That's him there on the right, at a Learn To Ski Clinic at Pleasant Oak Ski Lake in 1993.  That clinic (and the DisAbled Regionals the following day) were what got us hooked on skiers with disabilities.  Kent had been towing skiers during the clinic when Royce asked if he'd give him a ride.  Kent was honored Royce would trust him so much, knowing if Royce fell over he won't be able to hold his head out of the water.  Royce told Kent to make wide sweeping turns and he'd probably be fine, if he fell the safety PWC was right behind him (you can see it to the right of Royce in the photo).  As Kent was ending the first turn Royce hit a wake and tipped over.  The Safety PWC was there instantly, holding Royce's head above water until the boat returned and he could ski again. Kent was horrified Royce had fallen while he towed him, he idled back to Royce who said "Hey Kent, do you know what they call a quadriplegic in the water?"  Kent cringed, thinking Royce was going to chastise him for missing the turn, and replied "No, what?"  Royce looked him straight in the eye, solemn faced and said "Bob."  Kent lost it, knowing Royce was referring to the fact that he'd just be bobbing in the water unable to move without help. Royce laughed too, knowing he'd made Kent feel at ease again.

Not too long after Chris Reeve's accident I asked Royce if he'd help me make a video to send to Mr. Reeve, hoping he would help the US DisAbled WaterSki TEAM get some publicity and/or funding.  Royce didn't even give it a second thought, we set up a time for KeNyA and I to go to his house and Royce spent about 30 minutes talking to Chris Reeve on video, not only about the TEAM, but also offering some suggestions and advice from his own perspective of life after injury.  With great chagrin I confess the video was never sent, I lost it.  I've a good excuse, nevertheless the video was never sent:(  The people who copied it for me couldn't find it anywhere.

Anyway, back to Royce Andes.  The pictured license plate belongs to Royce, I think it defines Royce's attitude quite well.  Royce has and continues to give to the sport of DisAbled waterSkiing, he's an icon, modeling the Secret of Life.  By the way the Secret of Life . . . "If it is to be, it is up to me!"