BOB CALDERON

Bob Calderon's unique path from the U.S. Marine Corps and Vietnam to the first Male Athlete-of-the-Year honoree includes international recognition as a nine-ball champion and local attention as a community activist. After winning the Smoky Mountain Wheelchair Nine Ball Shootout earlier in the year, Calderon claimed the world title at the World Wheelchair Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, in October of 1999. In the last year he also organized the International Team Wheelchair Nine Ball Championships in Orange, California, and was named team captain. A competitor in nine ball and eight ball events, he is president of the National Wheelchair Pool Players Association and was the only wheelchair-user invited to the world nine-ball championships, an inclusion event, in Alicante, Spain, in December. As secretary-treasurer of the World Wheelchair Pool Association, Calderon is actively working on getting wheelchair pool into the 2004 Paralympics. Closer to home, he volunteers his time so that others can have a chance at participating in sports as he does, including raising money for children who have muscular dystrophy to attend camp and teaching pool at MDA Summer Camp.