HOLLIS, Maine — On Sunday, the Buxton & Hollis Rod & Gun Club held what it's calling "the only event of its kind."
The club held a competitive shooting competition, The Great Equalizer, where people with disabilities had the chance to compete on an even playing field.
"I thought, well, what if we even the playing field a little, and we put them in a chair and make them shoot from my perspective," Enock Glidden said.
Glidden was born with spina bifida and has been in a wheelchair all his life. He began competitively shooting five years ago but said he quickly realized some of his friends were able to do things he couldn't from his wheelchair.
Members of the club decided the best way to better understand the challenges their teammates in wheelchairs face, was to experience the sport from their perspective.
"To level that playing field, to equalize, both shooters are going to shoot from chairs," Jason Beam, the competition's director and club president, said. "We certainly want it to bring value. We want to generate opportunity."
The event was two days long. Participants worked on building their skills Saturday before teams of two competed against each other. Organizers said participants came from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, as well as Maine.
"It is amazing to see them overcome what they’ve been through and just continue to keep moving and working harder," Thomas Dunham, the competition's assistant director, said. "It just fills my heart with joy to see this.”
The club will hold the third annual "Great Equalizer" competition next year.