BEMIDJI 鈥� Game tables created in Bemidji are bringing joy to vision-impaired people throughout the United States, and even in Canada.
Chris Keenan has been making custom kitchen cabinets in Bemidji since the 1970s, but he also has built more than two dozen Power Showdown tables, which are sold to camps and schools for the blind. Four of his recently completed tables filled part of the shop at Keenan鈥檚 Cabinets of Distinction this week, ready to be shipped out to customers.
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It all started in 2006 when Keenan was approached by his friend Jim Mastro, a physical education professor at Bemidji State University. Mastro discovered the game called Showdown when he was competing in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and wanted to expand the game鈥檚 international popularity to the United States. At the time, the game tables were manufactured in Denmark and shipping them to the U.S. was very expensive.
鈥淪o I asked Chris if he could make one of those tables,鈥� said Mastro, 76, who has been blind since he was a teenager. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e kind of complex to make because instead of square corners, they have curved corners. He said he could make them, and I knew some people in different schools for the blind. One of the things I wanted to do was to give blind individuals choices and opportunities to play different sports. And Showdown was kind of fun. So that鈥檚 what we did.鈥�
Keenan, 72, heads a team of five that provides custom and factory cabinetry and countertops for commercial and residential customers. Keenan鈥檚 Cabinets of Distinction opened at 1008 Paul Bunyan Drive SE in 1978.
Showdown was conceived in the 1960s when Joe Lewis, a blind Canadian, wanted to create a sport that could be played recreationally or competitively without sighted assistance. It quickly became popular in Canada and Europe and has spread around the world.
The game, which is similar to air hockey, is played on a specially designed table by two players from opposing sides using flat paddles and a ball with BBs inside. The goal of the game is to bat the ball off the side wall, under the center screen or board, and into the opponent鈥檚 goal. Players score two points for a goal and one point when their opponent hits the ball into the screen, hits the ball off the table, or touches the ball with anything but the paddle or hand.
Showdown was an international success at its debut as a demonstration sport during the 1980 Paralympic Games in the Netherlands.
Mastro said he and Keenan changed the name to Power Showdown once they started making their tables.
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鈥淲e call it Power Showdown because in the United States, there were so many things that were called showdown,鈥� Mastro said. 鈥淚t could be a gunfight at the O.K. Corral; it could be a gambling game like some kind of poker. So we added 鈥楶ower鈥� so people wouldn't confuse it with poker and a Western movie.鈥�
Mastro鈥檚 vast network of friends and colleagues is responsible for most of the Power Showdown sales. He competed in seven Paralympics from 1976 to 2000 and was the first Paralympic athlete ever to medal in four different sports 鈥� judo, wrestling, track and field, and goalball. He earned five gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Mastro attended the Showdown World Championships in Sweden in 2009 along with his wife and son.
鈥淚 beat the guy who invented the game,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 beat a guy from Iran. But everybody else just tore me apart. (Americans) are about 20 years behind the rest of the world in the sport.鈥�
Keenan says sighted people can also play Power Showdown whether they play with a blindfold or not.
鈥淚 always lose when I play,鈥� he chuckled. 鈥淓ven when I don鈥檛 wear a blindfold, I still lose.鈥�
Early on, Mastro delivered Power Showdown tables with help from BSU co-workers and members of the university鈥檚 judo team that he coached. Since Mastro retired in 2016, Keenan has taken over the deliveries.
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Keenan says it鈥檚 rewarding to witness the excitement that blind students show when they鈥檙e introduced to the game.
鈥淢aking tables for blind people is kind of fun,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the funnest, neatest people you run into. Power Showdown just helps them with their life, helps them learn and grow, and gives them confidence.鈥�
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