Options growing for para-athletes
On Twitter and in life, Liam Hickey has adopted an uplifting motto: no leg, no problem. No kidding. He wheeled off the basketball court here Wednesday a proud Paralympian, though the Canadian men’s team’s 11th-place finish was surely disappointing. He won’t be wallowing, however. No time.
The 18-year-old from St. John’s, N.L., born without a femur in his right leg, is winging his way back home soon for a sledge hockey national team selection camp.
One leg, two sports, all kinds of talent. He’s something of a commodity in the Paralympic realm.
“Talent identification is a huge issue,” said Team Canada’s assistant chef de mission Norm O’Reilly. “You think about the athletes that are capable, like a (wheelchair basketball cocaptain David Eng), of winning a gold medal or leading their team to a gold medal. There aren’t very many of them.
“So if he had gone into another sport, the underlying theory is he would be great at what he did. You think of the elite athletes around the world in able-bodied and Paralympics, there are only so few. So it’s a really competitive process when a young person decides that’s where they want to go. So all the different federations have learn to swim, learn to play basketball, whatever the thing is, to try to get you in.”
That gets to the grassroots. They go much further than that when an able-bodied athlete suddenly becomes disabled through injury or disease, because of the sheer dearth of numbers. A Statistics Canada survey in 2012 found that only 14 per cent of Canadians age 15 and over selfreported as disabled.
O’Reilly said athletes and coaches are constantly reaching out to the athletes among that number, at the behest of their national para-sport organizations.
“Absolutely. And I think in the Paralympic sport world, it’s even more powerful than able-bodied sport. Because often these are young people who have been in an accident or they have been injured or they have an underlying problem that’s led to this. (Sport) changes their lives. So not only is it a great experience, and they get to travel the world, they get to represent their country. But the alternative for many of these people who are participating in sport is depression, problems at home. So that’s why I love the Paralympic Games. The power of sport is so obvious.
“We have 162 (athletes) here but there are thousands back home who have got involved. It gives you confidence, gives you a social network, it helps their professional career. It’s really wonderful. So in addition to the high-performance talent ID, there is also the opportunity to just help people with physical disabilities have a better life.”
That makes it worth the awkward moments when wheelchair basketball and rugby, for instance, compete for the same athlete. Fact is, they are trying to tone it down for the common good. A Canadian Paralympic Committee spokesperson said “basketball and rugby used to ‘fight’ over athletes but are now working together to ensure that the athlete is in the sport that he/ she will enjoy and thrive in.”
There are plenty of examples here. Tristan Smyth tried wheelchair basketball and racing after his injury, and stayed with track. Zak Madell has played basketball and now stars on the rugby team. Christine Gauthier has competed in sledge hockey and para-Nordic skiing and credits friends for her entry into para-canoe. Her multi-sport background makes her attractive to those pursuits she has yet to try.
“I have been approached by other sports to try them, but I love kayaking,” she said.
The hope is, as O’Reilly puts it, that “a magnificent cyclist, with some training, could be a magnificent cross-country skier.”
CPC president Gaétan Tardif said his organization wants athletes to try everything and pick what they like, which is often what they’re best at. But there are other factors at play.
“Geography will play a role,” Tardif said. “If you’re from a small northern B.C. or northern Ontario community, chances are there’s not a wheelchair basketball team around.
“So people in those environments might be more willing to try an individual sport that doesn’t require as much equipment or adaptation.”
Katelyn Wright chose a team sport, sitting volleyball, which was a little-known option.
“It’s pretty amazing to me how big the world of para-sport is and how many para people don’t know about it,” Wright said. “For me, I’ve been an amputee for 13 years now and I didn’t know about sitting volleyball until just over two years ago. To me, that’s crazy.
“Every time we step on the court, it’s our chance to show people what it is we’re doing. Whether it is just someone walking by (at practice) or if it is on a grand scale, you see it on TV, it gets people talking. It might stick in someone’s mind. Every time we can showcase what we do, we will, and the more people get talking, the more recognition it will have.
“I think if we start small, we can get the word out there to the para community and we’ll take a big step forward to building parasport in general.”