WAUWATOSA, Wisc. (TMJ4) — The Wauwatosa Curling Club is growing the game by making it accessible to anyone willing to try.

"My mom and dad have been curling for 48 years. I started in late 2015, earlier 2016 when I first got hurt," said Jeffery Haagensen, a veteran and adaptive curler."Do it. I mean you can think about it but if you just come out and do it you'll have an absolute blast."

As a Veteran and suicide survivor, Haagensen knows what it's like to start all over.

"Finding programs like this was that balance between people is always pushing you to try new things, but you kind of wants to do it at your own pace," Haagensen said.

An avid curler, Allen Miller has seen what time on the ice can do for people.

"There are other clubs that do wheelchair curling, but this goes well beyond that. I guess I get emotional when I think about it because I've seen the results," he said.

For the Wauwatosa Curling Club, their adaptive program started with the veterans back in 2007.

"We forged a relationship with the spinal cord injury unit and they began bringing veterans from the VA to curl," Allen said.

Still to this day, proudly hosting veterans, Haagensen will admit a sport he ignored most of his life has its moments.

"It looks easy, it is not. That was the first thing I learned. It's not about the competitiveness though, when you talk to people about the relationship they have with their teammates," Haagensen said.

Allen and other club members seized a chance to reach a part of the community that is too often limited by society.

"In 2015, we started an adaptive program opened to members of the general community with all levels of physical ability and ages," says Allen. "It [the program] exposes people who normally do not get an opportunity to be out in the community. Not just to be out in the community, but to be out and experience something [curling] that the rest of us kind of take for granted."

This story was originally reported by Delaney Brey on tmj4.com

When Syrian badminton player Aram Mahmoud fled his home country six years ago, he left everything behind — including his family.

"It was a very difficult decision for my family, for my father and mother, and for me also," Mahmoud said.

But he knew it was the only way to pursue his dream of playing badminton at the highest level. 

"When I left Syria and went to the Netherlands, I found a safe place. And after that, I also started playing the sport I love."

His dream will come true this summer in Tokyo.

Mahmoud is one of 29 refugee athletes selected to compete at the Olympic games under the Olympic flag. 

The team includes a wrestler from Iraq, a cyclist from Afghanistan, and a runner from South Sudan.

"When they announced my name that I was in the team, it was one of the best moments in my life, actually," he said. 

The Olympic refugee team, which first competed five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, is meant to send a message of "solidarity, resilience, and hope" at a time when a record number of people are fleeing war and persecution around the globe.

"I'm very proud, actually, to be able to represent millions of people to make them feel that they can also reach their goal if they believe in themselves," Mahmoud said.

Mahmoud fled Syria alone when he was a teenager amid a civil war. The conflict, which started 10 years ago, has left 500,000 people dead and 13 million displaced.

When he arrived in the Netherlands in 2015, Mahmoud struggled to prove himself.

"I had like two years where I was in Syria, and I couldn't practice. So my level was a bit down," he said.

Due to his refugee status, he was unable to compete internationally for the next three years. But since then, he's wasted no time climbing the world rankings.

"Now I am like No. 2 or 3 in the Netherlands. So it's like it's quite a big improvement for me," Mahmoud said.

Though he's far from a favorite, Mahmoud is ready to make the most of his time in Tokyo.

"It's a very huge me for my family, for my father. They know that I deserve this kind of chance. And I think I will also do my best there. I'm not just going there to participate."

Ben Schamisso at Newsy first reported this story.