New York Wheelchair softball has made it to the big time-or at least to the Big Apple. The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association and the New York City Parks Department in March held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the city's first wheelchair softball field. Located in Queens, it is the home of the EPVA Mets, a wheelchair softball team cosponsored by the New York Mets.

The team is practicing on the new field and hosting wheelchair softball clinics. A tournament, held in conjunction with the New York Mets, is planned in September at a Shea Stadium parking lot.

"If you're wondering about wheelchair softball, well, it's been around for 25 years," said Danny Perry, public affairs assistant for the EPVA. "It's a sport that highlights the abilities of people in wheelchairs over their inabilities."

It follows the official rules of the Amateur Softball Association of America with a few modifications for wheelchair users, officials said. The National Wheelchair Softball Association governs more than 30 teams nationwide.