Community News

THE POWER OF PLAY

HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC LEARN ABOUT PARASPORTS AND WHAT IT TAKES TO COMPETE

LUKE EDWARDS ledwards@niagarathis week.com

The first goal was simple: Just score a point.

Once accomplished, Marilyn Abbs added a new goal. This time it scored a point in each of the first two sets. Her goals were manageable, but each built upon the previous. Soon she'd turned herself into quite the tennis player.

Her internal drive and passion for sport got her to this point. Support from the ParaSport Ontario community will help her reach her future goals. The Fort Erie woman received a new wheelchair custom designed to fit her and allow her to excel on the tennis court.

"The difference this makes to your life is incredible," said Abbs, who started using a wheelchair seven years ago.

Athletic by nature, she competes in several parasports, with tennis being the most recent.

Abbs compared it to an athlete and their running shoes. A properly designed shoe that is custom fitted to a person's foot can help them elevate their game in ways some generic or poor fitting shoe just can't do.

Through the Play to Podium program, Abbs received the new chair during the ParaSport Ontario two-day festival, held May 31 and June 1 at the Meridian Community Centre in Fonthill. The event honoured Niagara parasports athletes, invited students and the public to try out a variety of adapted sports, and celebrated the individuals and businesses that help ensure everyone who wants to play a sport can.

"We must continue to support events like these to make sure every person in Niagara has access to

sport and play," said Diana Huson, regional councillor for Pelham.

Garrett Riley is a ParaSport Ontario ambassador and competed in the 2022 Paralympics. He played standup hockey as a kid, but at age 15, doctors found he had osteosarcoma. Treatment initially saved his leg, but later complications forced doctors to amputate it in 2017.

But he didn't let that

slow him down, and soon was on the fast track to becoming a Paralympian.

"Just a lot of support and it's just something I love to do," he said, explaining how he was able to get to such an elite level so quickly.

"It was incredible...it was an absolute honour to be able to represent my city and my country."

Riley said becoming a ParaSport Ontario ambassador has allowed him to show people that a disability doesn't mean they have to give up their passions, whatever those passions may be.

"There's so much more out there with whatever disability you have, you can always do something, and you can always play something that you love to do," he said.

Riley led some instructional lessons during the festival, showing students and the public how sledge hockey works and taking them out on the ice for a quick trial.

"It's a lot of shoulders, a lot of arms, a lot of core strength. But it's a great sport," he said.

As part of the festival, ParaSport Ontario handed out its community impact awards.

Winners included:

JIM AND LORETTA DAVIS —

The couple supports athletes with disabilities across Niagara but is perhaps best known for their work with the Brock Niagara Penguins. They're also ParaSport Ontario ambassadors.

RIDLEY COLLEGE — The St. Catharines school has turned itself into a hub for the Niagara Sledge Hockey League.

ANGELO ANGELOPOULOS —

The 'Zamboni guy', he's a presence at the Grimsby

Peach King Centre, getting the ice ready for play and then immediately helping all the athletes get into their sledges and ready to go.

WENDY FOOTE — Foote's involvement was described as indicative of the inclusive nature of ParaSports, as she and her able-bodied hockey team helped fill out the NSHL as it was first getting going. She and her team remain passionate players and supporters of the league.

MERIDIAN CREDIT UNION —

The credit union has provided financial and volunteer support for many organizations, including the NSHL and through the Meridian Play to Podium Fund.

COMMUNITY

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2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

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