Both mobility-impaired and able-bodied persons in Yorkton had an opportunity last week to try out sledge hockey and wheelchair rugby, soccer and basketball.
The Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports Association (SWSA) promotes participation in wheelchair sports through a number of programs including Have-a-Go Days.
On November 15, at the invitation of Good Spirit School Division and its occupational therapists, SWSA brought the program to Yorkton.
"We wanted to have this day for our kids with mobility challenges and our regular kids, peers, friends, siblings, just to get a chance to have an experience where they're all on the same playing field," said Meredith Tyler, one of the school division's occupational therapists.
She said it has benefits for both mobility-impaired and able-bodied kids.
"I think it brings a lot of acceptance," she said. "And of the kids who have always had a challenge in their mobility, they get to just play the same as everybody else and that's a unique experience for a lot of them."
Tyler hopes the school division will be able to get some of the sports going in the region starting by borrowing sledges and or wheelchairs through the SWSA Bridging the Gap program, which provides loaners to help organizations get their programs going.
In the future, though, she hopes the school division will be able to purchase equipment. They are investigating grant programs and looking for sponsors to reduce the financial burden.
Leanne Schellenberg, provincial Bridging the Gap coordinator, said there are other advantages to getting all kinds of people involved in wheelchair sports.
"It's often important for rural communities and even our teams in larger centres as we don't always have the population to just have a team of kids with disabilities so we often rely on some able-bodied kids to come out and play as well," she explained.
It also builds the overall appreciation of wheelchair sports, which can be just as competitive as other sports, she added.
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