Social Impact Programs level the playing field for all

Exhibiting the physical requirements to participate in typical sport is something that many take for granted. 

After all, options for able bodies are often aplenty. 

But that wasn’t the case for Sawyer, whose disability was not conducive to the offerings all around him. 

He was simply looking for a chance to just get in the game. 

And WinSport had just the thing for him. 

When his mother, Cassandra, heard a radio commercial for WinSport’s Adapted Sport Program, it was an easy decision to register her son, despite the hour-long commute from their home to Canada Olympic Park. 

Was this option too good to be true? Would the commitment be worth it? What if it didn’t turn out as they had so desperately hoped? 

These questions and more would be answered in a flash upon arriving to the first of eight weekend sessions. 

“The way they set up the Adapted Sport Program allowed anyone with any ability to participate,” says Cassandra, who recently brought her son all the way back to WinSport just to share their story together. “He fit in immediately. They set up the sports for each individual and adapted them to different levels. It was an instant fit. 

“The Program itself was absolutely fantastic, but what the program did for him was expose him to sport and grow him,” she continues. “He became a lot more confident and started expressing himself in wanting to try other sports that weren’t even offered through this Adapted Sport Program. We wanted him to keep building himself through sport.” 

Sawyer, who was diagnosed with central core disease, was given the gift of playing certain sports for the very first time. He describes adapted basketball and rugby as two of his favourites while at WinSport, but also tried out tennis, lacrosse, badminton, hand cycling, curling, and volleyball, all with just the right modifications to meet his needs. 

While taking part in the Program, he remembers supportive and helpful instructors expertly orchestrating both skill development and fun. 

“It was a good mix of both in my opinion,” says Sawyer. “They had skill development, and then typically towards the end we would play games. My arms definitely did get stronger every week!” 

The Program was specifically designed with everyone in mind. Those without physical disabilities had many of their would-be advantages neutralized right away from a seated position. 

“When you get in a wheelchair, it’s a relatively similar playing field,” says Sawyer. “Even if you’re not able-bodied, it’s much more even playing with an able-bodied person.” 

With Sawyer continuing to return to WinSport for multiple years, the Adapted Sport Program would eventually hit close to home in additional ways Cassandra would have never expected. 

“I didn’t think there was anything like this,” says Cassandra. “As a parent of someone who is physically disabled, I wanted him to be able to have all the same things that my other kids had—they were all very multi-sport. I had no idea where to start and what he could do and couldn’t do. Having access to this program opened my eyes and his eyes and his siblings’ eyes. I even had a child go on to play able-bodied rugby because she got exposed to the adapted rugby here at WinSport; it got my other children to look at sport in a different way. I think the program was such a fantastic thing for everyone to be involved with. These types of programs benefit everybody.” 

Since being a part of the program, Sawyer’s school purchased specialized equipment for him to share adapted sports with his friends and fellow students. He has also taken up floor hockey on his own time and competed in Sweden while representing Alberta in the World Cup Volt Hockey. 

When asked to offer his encouragement for readers to register in one of WinSport’s current social impact programs, Sawyer, who just turned 14 on Nov. 26, is an enthusiastic advocate. 

“I would tell them about my experience and that I never regretted it after the first minute I did it.”