May 09, 2013 (Ottawa, ON) – The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is pleased to announce the 2013-14 recipients of the Para-Equipment Fund, supported by Invacare Canada, as well as the Recruitment Program Fund. Both funds are supported by the Government of Canada’s Sport Support Program.

The Para-Equipment Fund (PEF) delivers grants of up to $5,000 to national and provincial sport organizations as well as local level clubs to purchase adapted equipment – for sports such as wheelchair basketball, sledge hockey, or skiing for people with visual impairments, for example – to enable people with a disability to take part in sport. Grants awarded help the sport organizations cover 50 per cent of the total cost of the equipment.

This year, 42 sport organizations representing 17 parasports in regions across Canada received a total of $154,679.17 from the Para-Equipment Fund. Due to the matching nature of the Fund by the recipient, a total of $309,358.34 will be invested into the parasport system.

“Our involvement in the Para-Equipment fund allows us at Invacare and our performance wheelchair team at Top End to work towards our goal of making life’s experiences possible,” said Vince Morelli, General Manager of Invacare Canada, a leading manufacturer of wheelchairs for both everyday use and competitive sports. “The Fund will help nurture the hopes and dreams of more kids with disabilities, allowing them to participate and be active through Invacare’s product lines – and maybe even one day compete for Canada at the Paralympic  Games!”

The Recruitment Program Fund (RPF) awards grants of up to $10,000 to sports organizations to financially support the creation of a new sports program or the expansion of an existing successful program that provides a positive introductory sports experience for participants
with a disability.

Funds may be used towards enhancing program options, such as facility rental space, coaching, volunteer training and more.

This year, 28 sport organizations representing 18 parasports in regions across Canada received a total of $196,151.00 from the Recruitment Program Fund.

Between the two funds, a total of $350,830.17 in funds will be distributed to 60 sport organizations across the country (10 organizations are receiving both funds), representing 21 different sports. Including the matching of $154,679.17 by recipients of the Para-Equipment  Fund, a total of $505,509.34 will be invested in sports programs and sports equipment for people with a disability in Canada.

The complete list of recipients of the 2013-14 Para-Equipment Fund and Recruitment Program Fund is posted and downloadable HERE.

“Supporting the Para-Equipment Fund and Recruitment Programs Fund, and playing a leading role in the inclusion of people with disabilities in sport are things our Government is proud to do,” said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). “By providing these opportunities for people with disabilities, we are helping develop athletes who could one day proudly wear the maple leaf and represent Canada on the international stage.”

“Making the benefits of sport available to all is critical to Canada becoming a world leading Paralympic nation,” said David Legg, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. “To do this it is essential to make available quality introductory sport programming and adapted sports equipment in order to give those with a disability a place to play and a positive sport experience. I would like to congratulate the recipients of the Para-Equipment Fund and the Recruitment Program Fund, and thank Invacare Canada, the Government of Canada, and all involved in parasport for their dedication and efforts in helping develop Canada’s parasport system.”

March 27, 2012 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Canada’s Para-Nordic athletes added three more medals on Tuesday to their haul at the IPC World Cup Finals, bringing their week total to seven.

Brian McKeever and his guide, Erik Carleton, completed their golden sweep of the three cross-country ski events in the men’s visually impaired category. McKeever, a 10-time Paralympic medallist, dominated the men’s 10-kilometre skate-ski race while battling through the heavy winds to clock a time of 25:43.7.

“I’m feeling better than I have all year. My shape has been building and it was a pretty solid day all-around for me,” said McKeever. “My skate skiing has been stronger this year and I put it together for the first time in a Para race.”

McKeever knocked of his Russian rivals, Stanislav Chokhlaev and Maksim Pirogov, in skate skiing for the first time this year. The Russians posted a second-place time of 26:39.3. Two other Russian skiers, Nikolay Polukhin and his guide, IIya Cherepanov, rounded out the men’s visually impaired podium in third at 26:39.9.

Canada also grabbed two bronze medals in the men’s and women’s sit-skiing races.

Chris Klebl, of Canmore, Alta., brought his season medal total to six after claiming the bronze in the men’s 10-kilometre sit-ski race with a time of 29:33.8. The 40-year-old Klebl finished one minute off the golden pace set by Russia’s Ramil Ilalutdinov at 28:33.3. Roman Petushkov, also of Russia, claimed the bronze at 28:55.0.

Saskatoon’s Colette Bourgonje rounded out the trio of medals after claiming her second straight bronze in the sit-skiing middle distance races. The reigning World Champion crossed the finish line with a time of 16:15.1 in the women’s 5km race.

Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen battled her way back to the top of the podium with a time of 15:52.2, while Lyudmyla Pavlenko, of the Ukraine, finished second at 16:02.1.

The IPC World Cup Finals continue on Thursday in Finland with the start of the Biathlon events.

Full results HERE.

March 26, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – She was into every high school sport, yet she was usure which one would become her passion. The teenage Robbie Weldon was also a speed-hungry Alpine ski racer and instructor in Thunder Bay. Even as she noticed her eyesight was becoming problematic, Weldon never tried out for a team she didn’t make.

“I played First Division soccer while I was in Brantford,” said Weldon, who, by the time she was 18, was in Brantford during the summer at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), learning how to adjust to a life with macular degeneration disease.

Like her Para-Nordic teammate, Brian McKeever, who lives with the same disease and sees only peripherally, Weldon didn’t let losing her eyesight be a barrier – in fact more opportunities opened to her. She played able-bodied soccer while competing for Canada in blind power lifting, setting records in the squat, bench press and dead lift.

In 2002, she started cross-country skiing recreationally, mainly because it was healthier than Alpine skiing and brought her into the natural world she loved. By then, she had established her career as a recreational therapist, and one day in 2006 at a work meeting, a colleague gave her a copy of “Abilities Magazine.” Cyclist Brian Cowie and his tandem pilot were on the cover, blowing away the competition at 60kph. “That’s what I want to do,” said Weldon to her colleagues.

“It was so weird, because on the way to the meeting, CBC Radio was announcing that Canada’s Paralympic Team was looking for athletes. I wondered, ‘Am I too old?’” She was 31 – the ideal age for endurance sports like Nordic skiing and bike racing.

Weldon watched the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Championships that year, because her home club of Lappe Nordic was event host, but tragedy hit the next day. “My father died at the workplace. They hadn’t secured a gate, and as a millwright, he was working and fell.” The Weldon family fell into the nightmare of challenging the safety standards of a huge corporation. “He wasn’t the only one to die at that site, or have a serious injury. We live without my father because of the negligence of a corporation.” The tragedy hit hard for Weldon.

In her work as a recreation therapist, at least 70% of her clients have brain or spinal cord injuries. She teaches them how to integrate themselves into the community; relearn how to take public transit, shop for groceries, and get into sports. Many para-athletes are disabled because of workplace injuries as a result of the negligence of their employers and Weldon would soon be skiing and cycling internationally with many of them.

Weldon attended a Para-Nordic ski camp in Canmore, AB, in August of 2006 and she was instantly hooked. She headed west again in late fall for the Nor-Am’s at Soverigen Lake, BC, and Canmore, and didn’t look back as she went on to compete in World Cups, World Championships and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It turned out cycling would be her forte, however, and when she teamed up with former Olympian Lynne Bessette as her pilot, the sky was the limit.

In May 2010 Weldon was at the University of Calgary for physiological testing. Bessette waited in the wings, but only for an athlete who could generate the wattage necessary for world podium finishes. When Weldon cranked out the requisite watts, a winning team was born and the duo competed at the Canadian Championships in June.

“The day before the race, we rode for an hour. We won the 20km time trial and the 70km road race,” said Weldon. At the World’s that year, Weldon and Bessette were 2.7s off gold in the time trial and won the 80km road race. In Sydney, Australia, they took double gold at the World Cup and repeated the performance in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the World Championships and ParaPan Am Championships; they are the top team heading into London.

After winning two golds and a silver at the Canadian Para-Nordic Cross-Country Ski Championships, Weldon boarded a train to Montreal and then a flight to Florida to join the cycling team for a pre-Paralympic training camp. The London 2012 Summer Paralympic Games commence August 29, 2012 and the Canadian duo of Weldon and Bessette are undoubtedly the team to beat.

March 22, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – ParaSport Ontario is a not-for-profit provincial sport organization that provides leadership, resources, and opportunities to ensure a strong community for persons with physical disability in the Ontario sport and recreation community. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Events and Communication Intern will assist with event planning and execution as well as executing the communication strategy of ParaSport Ontario. This is an unpaid position. Application Deadline: April 20, 2012; starting Date: May 7, 2012.

Roles & Responsibilities:
– Works with the Development Coordinator to insure that proper information is sent out to member organizations, athletes, coaches and volunteers associated with the development program.
– Records post session information in the participant database and communicate with other sport organizations regarding interested participants.
– Helps drive the media presence of ParaSport Ontario through traditional and social media channels
– Creates an effective regular communication schedule to keep members and partners informed of ParaSport Ontario Activities
– Works with the Executive Director to plan and execute promotional, fundraising and sport events
– Creates communication partnerships between other sports organizations
– Assists with other ParaSport Ontario programs/events as required

Qualifications Required:
– Strong team player and able to collaborate on numerous projects. Able to work independently and as a team member in a cross-functional office environment.
– Knowledge of the amateur sport community and experience in working in the field of sport for athletes with a physical disability considered an asset.
– Experience working with volunteers
– Excellent communication skills, written and verbal
– An educational background in Event Planning and Communications an asset
– Detail oriented
– Computer literacy (Word, Excel, Publisher)
– Social media literacy (facebook, twitter, youtube)
– Desktop publishing experience
– Promotional and Marketing experience
– Must be willing to travel within Ontario if required, work some evenings and weekends, as well as possess a valid driver’s license
– Access to a personal computer will be considered an asset

Location: 3 Concorde Gate, Suite 104, Toronto, ON
Supervisor: Eric Cartlidge, Executive Director
eric@parasportontario.ca
(416) 426-7186

****THIS IS AN UNPAID POSITION****
Note: Parking will be provided as well as expenses for travel, meals and accommodations when necessary.

Salary Range: this is an unpaid position

Type of Position: Intern / co-op

View more details HERE.

Contact Information:
Eric Cartlidge
ParaSport Ontario
3 Concorde Gate Suite 104
Toronto , ON, Canada
M3C3N7
E-mail: eric@parasportontario.ca
Tel. 416-426-7186
Fax. 416-426-7361
www.parsportontario.ca