Parapan Am / en These alumni helped set the stage (literally) for the Parapan and Pan Am Games /news/these-alumni-helped-set-stage-literally-parapan-and-pan-am-games <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">These alumni helped set the stage (literally) for the Parapan and Pan Am Games</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-17T03:42:15-04:00" title="Monday, August 17, 2015 - 03:42" class="datetime">Mon, 08/17/2015 - 03:42</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Indrit Alushani worked at the Abilities Centre (above) which hosted boccia and judo during the Parapan Am Games (photo by Indrit Alushani)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/dale-duncan" hreflang="en">Dale Duncan</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/josie-harrison" hreflang="en">Josie Harrison</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Josie Harrison &amp; Dale Duncan</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sport" hreflang="en">Sport</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am" hreflang="en">Parapan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-am" hreflang="en">Pan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/architecture" hreflang="en">Architecture</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">ֱ</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Architecture grads Indrit Alushani and Craig Deebank explain what goes into the temporary infrastructure needed for events</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Indrit Alushani</strong> and <strong>Craig Deebank</strong> have had a behind-the-scenes look at the many things cities must do to make large sporting events such as the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games possible. &nbsp;</p> <p>The two recent Master of Architecture grads scored contract positions doing what’s known as Games overlay – designing and overseeing the construction of the temporary infrastructure required for venues hosting the Games.&nbsp;</p> <p>Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies student <strong>Josie Harrison</strong> spoke with them about their experience, what they have learned about designing venues for accessible international sporting events, and how the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design&nbsp;helped prepare them for their roles.</p> <p><strong>What exactly is “Games overlay”?&nbsp;</strong><br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Alushani</strong>:&nbsp;Games overlay deals with the temporary infrastructure that is needed to run the Games. This includes but is not limited to commodities and spaces that are necessary to meet the standards of an international sporting event. Overlay managers collaborate closely with stakeholders and others who will use the venue to ensure the space that meets everyone’s requirements.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Deebank</strong>: I was told when I started that no venue is 100 per cent ready to host a game. There is always an alteration process that takes place based on the game’s unique standards and protocol. There are a lot of different client groups you have to please at the end of the day within the design and budget parameters you’ve been given. &nbsp;</p> <p>In some cases, venues are 100 per cent overlay. For example, some venues are constructed over parking lots – such as the beach volleyball venue. The overlay team would bring in the temporary seating, sand, power, platforms, grandstands, broadcast stands and all of the other things required to make the venue and sport function. These are removed at the end of the Games and can be repurposed for other things.</p> <p><strong>Could you describe your role for the Games?</strong></p> <p><strong>Alushani</strong>: I was first assigned to the East Zone team to help out six site managers who were in charge of designing and delivering the infrastructure of one or more venue. At first you would jump from one task to another, one venue to another. As things progressed I was assigned to assist in the delivery of the President’s Choice Pan Am Ballpark in Ajax where baseball and softball was held, as well as the General Motors Center in Oshawa for the weightlifting and boxing. Lately I've been&nbsp;working at the Abilities Centre in Whitby, which is hosting boccia and judo during the Parapan Am Games.</p> <p>(Image below: Alushani at President's Choice Pan Am ballpark)</p> <p><img alt="photo of Alushani at work site" src="/sites/default/files/2915-08-17-parapan-alushani.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 410px; margin: 10px 30px;"></p> <p><strong>Deebank</strong>: As an overlay site manager in the West Zone, I was involved in managing the design of several venues and delivery phase of the Cisco Milton Pan Am / Parapan Am Velodrome. It’s a high-pressure environment. One day you’re working on coordinating the Velodrome cycling track; the next day you’re trying to plan the cycling time trial race. During the design phase you jump around from venue to venue, sport to sport, so there’s a lot of learning that takes place. A lot of the people working in our overlay department are architects or architecturally trained. It’s very much like a studio environment. We don’t do physical models, but we sketch a lot and use similar software. So it’s like being in a studio, but you are putting on the Games.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What kind of things did you have to consider when designing overlay with the Parapan Am Games in mind?</strong></p> <p><strong>Alushani</strong>: The Abilities Centre building in Whitby has won a number of awards for design excellence with respect to accessibility. It serves as a center for rehabilitation and is a true celebration of barrier-free design, which made things quite easy for us in overlay as the building was already so well designed for individuals with physical limitations. The striking element in the building is the gradual ramp that starts from the ground floor and leads to the upper level. There was a great level of consideration for ramp slopes or demarcation of raised steps or cable flies in areas with high traffic. I have learned so much about accessible design. It was inspiring to see how design can create so many opportunities and become a means of inclusion.</p> <p><strong>Deebank</strong>: The Cisco Milton Velodrome is both a Pan and Parapan Am venue which I have been stationed at for the duration of the Games –&nbsp;it's a beautiful facility specifically designed to function for large track cycling events and accommodate a variety of accessible needs. During the design phase we had incorporated many barrier-free design features to our verlay spaces in order to reduce the amount of transition required.</p> <p><img alt="photo of velodrome" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-17-parapan-final.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 420px; margin: 10px 30px;"></p> <p>In the West Zone, The Mississauga Sport Centre had the most Pan to Parapan changes as the overlay, sport and venue teams had transformed the venue to host&nbsp;combat sports (judo, taikwondo, karate and wrestling) and then wheelchair rugby, powerlifting and goalball. It was really impressive how that team transformed the hockey arenas into their current Games-ready state.</p> <p>From an overlay perspective, the key things to consider were the Parapan user experience and to find design and cost efficiencies that would work for both Pan and Parapan's needs. I thought the TO2015 Organizing Committee had strong, experienced leadership with Parapan Planning and Integration and were able to help us collaborate through this unique process.</p> <p><strong>What have you learned from your experience working on overlay for the Games?</strong></p> <p><strong>Alushani</strong>: Where do I even begin? This has been such a unique experience, and I consider myself lucky to have been part of it. Project management is one of the first things that comes to mind: being able to work with schedulers in order to have contractors build on time, meeting budgets and legal requirements, ensuring that the work is conducted safely, communicating and delegating work to a large number of people, from your own contractors to your colleagues. It is a huge role with great responsibility.</p> <p><strong>Deebank</strong>: It’s a very high tempo, fast paced, social, and collaborative environment. You have to be able to think quickly and be adaptable, and that’s been a fun challenge. I worked with many great people who have experience with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the World Cup in Brazil. Hearing what they did in these particular locations and the challenges they faced<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;–&nbsp;</span>be it a labour shortage or the need to use local materials<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;–&nbsp;</span>and how they problem-solved in those cases was really interesting. You learn more about the sports as well. I have spent a lot of time at the Cisco Milton Pan Am / Parapan Am Velodrome in Milton, so I learned a lot about track cycling; it’s incredible what the athletes can do. You don’t know how steep those curved walls are until you see it in person. And then you see the athletes ride at 70 km or more around it<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;–&nbsp;</span>it’s really cool.</p> <p>(Image below: Deebank at Velodrome)</p> <p><img alt="photo of Deebank at velodrome" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-17-deebank-velodrome.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 410px; margin: 10px 30px;"></p> <p>It has been great to see the large selection of Parapan sports offered. A few days ago I went to watch wheelchair rugby, a.k.a “Murderball,” at the Mississauga Sport Centre. As one would expect with a nickname of “Murderball,” this is a contact sport –&nbsp;those athletes are fierce competitors and can hit really hard! It was really entertaining and an amazing display of athleticism.</p> <p>Speaking with a few of the athletes, coaches, sport organizers and volunteers throughout the Parapan Am Games, I've had the opportunity to learn about some of the athletes' stories and how they came to specialize in their Parapan sports. It's incredible what these athletes have accomplished and their commitment to their sport.</p> <p><strong>How did your time at the University of Toronto prepare you for this role?</strong></p> <p><strong>Alushani</strong>: The Daniels Faculty is a world-class school of design in part because it emphasizes on collaboration and creativity. The Faculty welcomes people from different backgrounds both cultural and academic because diversity and collaboration is key to successful design ideas. The Toronto 2015 office has been one of the most diverse offices I have been to. People were coming from all ends of the world with different career backgrounds, working together to create one unique and remarkable final product, the Pan Am games.</p> <p><strong>Deebank</strong>: The Daniels Faculty really promotes the City as an organism, understanding the city, and where architecture and design fits within it. This has stuck with me, and I try to apply it wherever I go. The Faculty also provides a diverse and collaborative environment between landscape architecture, visual studies, urbanism, and architecture, and people coming into these programs with completely varied academic backgrounds. There is a cross-disciplinary approach to problem solving. That, I think, was very applicable to this job. I’m really thankful for what I’ve learned at Daniels, and how I’ve been able to apply it in a professional setting.</p> <p><img alt="photo of President' Choice Pan Am ballpark" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-17-games-final.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 213px; margin: 10px 30px;"></p> <p>(Above:&nbsp;the President’s Choice Pan Am Ballpark in Ajax)</p> <p><em>Josie Harrison is a student and Dale Duncan is a writer with the University of Toronto's <a href="https://daniels.utoronto.ca/">John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape &amp; Design&nbsp;</a>where this article originally appeared. <a href="http://daniels.utoronto.ca/news">Read more news from the Faculty</a>.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-17-parapan-boccia.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 17 Aug 2015 07:42:15 +0000 sgupta 7215 at Behind the scenes of the Parapan Am Games with ֱ doctors /news/behind-scenes-parapan-am-games-u-t-doctors <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Behind the scenes of the Parapan Am Games with ֱ doctors</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-14T06:01:52-04:00" title="Friday, August 14, 2015 - 06:01" class="datetime">Fri, 08/14/2015 - 06:01</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Dr. Amanda Mayo is in the front row, third from right</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/carolyn-morris" hreflang="en">Carolyn Morris</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Carolyn Morris</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sport" hreflang="en">Sport</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rehab" hreflang="en">Rehab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am" hreflang="en">Parapan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-am" hreflang="en">Pan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Parapan Am Games in Toronto have reached the home stretch but&nbsp;health professionals from the University of Toronto are still hard at work behind the scenes, keeping the elite athletes at the top of their game.</p> <p>Dr. <strong>Amanda Mayo</strong> is a lecturer in physical medicine and rehabilitation (physiatry) and works with amputee patients at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. The lead doctor for Para Table Tennis at the Games, she&nbsp;also serves as a Paralympic classifier for athletics in Ontario, attending&nbsp;track and field events and training facilities to classify new athletes entering Paralympic sport.</p> <p>Dr. <strong>Lee Schofield</strong>, a physician at the ֱ’s David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic, is serving as lead physician for the Para-athletics venue.</p> <p>The Faculty of Medicine's <strong>Carolyn Morris</strong> spoke with Mayo and Schofield about their work behind the scenes at and the legacy of the Parapan Am Games.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Mayo</strong>:</p> <p>As a physiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, I see several para-athletes who are amputees – including para wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball players. Many ֱ faculty in sports medicine and physiatry are lead physicians and medical team members at the Games. The medical team has strong expertise in para sport providing excellent evidence based care for athletes. Many have been involved in research of performance and outcome measures for physically disabled populations.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Games have inspired many of my patients to get involved with more physical activity and parasport. I feel the best Games legacy is the great new accessible fitness facilities that are going to be available for people with physical disabilities. In my practice we’ve been implementing supervised circuit training and recreational therapy. Our rehabilitation team has developed these programs with the goal patients will gain skills and confidence to use community centres with accessible pools and fitness equipment. We now have MAR-Atos in Markham, the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, and Whitby Abilities Centre.</p> <p>Previously Variety Village was the only major accessible local fitness centre, so this is huge for Toronto and the GTA.</p> <p><strong>Schofield:&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>I was part of the Canadian medical team for the Pan Am Games, and I am the lead physician for the Para-Athletics venue for the Parapan Am Games. In my daily life, I work as a family doctor at St. Michael's Hospital, and as a sport and exercise medicine physician at the University of Toronto’s David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic and at PIVOT Sport Medicine &amp; Orthopedics. I also have athletes who compete in athletics and wheelchair basketball in my family practice, and have worked with para-triathlon and wheelchair basketball events in the past.</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-14-parapan-schofield.jpg" style="width: 275px; height: 325px; margin: 10px; float: right;">In many ways para-athletes have the same types of problems as other elite athletes. They’ve typically adapted well to using whatever specialized equipment they require, and the things we see them for are often not related to their disability. Sometimes athletes with prosthetics do have skin-related issues like pressure sores or skin breakdown. And thermal regulation can be an issue for patients with spinal cord injury.</p> <p>We also see compensatory issues when athletes overuse certain parts of their bodies – for example we see rotator cuff injuries that come from using the upper body extensively. Parasport is great from a sports medicine perspective because of the different approaches to tackling a problem – the solution could be a matter of modifying equipment, modifying how the athlete uses the equipment, or working on their muscle imbalances.&nbsp;</p> <p>Elite parasport performance and preparation also has a significant ripple effect on non-athletes living with disabilities. It shows the public and non-athletes how they can manage their injury or chronic disease and build strength, function and performance.</p> <p>For example, the Canadian Armed Forces program Soldier On supports service personnel and veterans to overcome their physical or mental illness through physical activity and sport. It’s a fantastic program that can introduce or re-introduce active people into sport (and often they can get into elite parasport) after a devastating injury.&nbsp;</p> <p>The technology developed to support these athletes can trickle down into the non-elite or non-athlete community. It’s mind-blowing when you consider what was available when Terry Fox had a leg amputation for osteosarcoma to the prosthetics that exist now for athletes and the general population.</p> <p>And it’s been huge as well for parasport in general – with over 1,600 athletes from 28 countries competing, this is the largest Parapan Am Games to date. And while it all wraps up at the closing ceremonies on Saturday, it will leave its mark on accessibility in Toronto.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-14-para-tennis-medical.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 14 Aug 2015 10:01:52 +0000 sgupta 7212 at Celebrating the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games /news/celebrating-toronto-2015-parapan-am-games <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Celebrating the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-12T05:42:37-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 12, 2015 - 05:42" class="datetime">Wed, 08/12/2015 - 05:42</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">ֱ Hall of Fame athlete Joanne Berdan (Bouw) and ֱ's Pan Am/Parapan Am Special Ambassador David Onley celebrate at City Hall (all photos by James Poremba)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am" hreflang="en">Parapan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-am" hreflang="en">Pan Am</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">ֱ reception at City Hall marks the first fully integrated, accessible and international multi-sport event in Canada's history</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>Widespread enthusiasm for the 2015 Parapan Am Games is proof of parasport competitors’ athleticism and tenacity, alumna <strong>Joanne Berdan</strong>&nbsp;told&nbsp;a University of Toronto reception at City Hall on August&nbsp;10.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>And the <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/joanne-berdan-be-first-paralympian-inducted-u-t-sports-hall-fame">ֱ Sports Hall of Famer</a> said it's great to witness the public celebration of &nbsp;“paratough” athletes.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“I was involved with parasport at a time when it required an explanation,” Berdan said.&nbsp;“The term ‘Paralympian’ is now a known part of our vernacular that no longer needs defining and to me that is so exciting.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Berdan was known as Joanne Bouw when she was a student (she graduated in 1986) and when she&nbsp;earned eight gold medals in track and field over the course of four Paralympic summer games from 1984 to 1992. The world records she set in javelin, shot put and discus throw for athletes with cerebral palsy stood for 12 years –&nbsp;until the Paralympic games in 2004. Last May, Berdan became the first parasport athlete inducted into the University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/joanne-berdan-be-first-paralympian-inducted-u-t-sports-hall-fame">Read more about Berdan's induction into the ֱ Hall of Fame</a></h2> <div>“Sport has the power to change the world,” she said, referencing a famous Nelson Mandela quote&nbsp;on the ability of athletics to break down racial barriers. “I believe that sport also breaks down disability barriers,” Berdan added.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“So, while you watch our athletes compete, please see the speed and fluidity of our swimmers in the pool, not the wheelchair nor the artificial limb they left on the pool deck, because our swimmers are paratough.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Berdan spoke at the ֱ reception for the&nbsp;Parapan Am Games at Toronto City Hall, before an audience that included&nbsp;dozens of ֱ&nbsp;staff, faculty, alumni and Parapan volunteers, as well as consuls general from Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico and the United States.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Clearly something extraordinary is going on and I believe it’s an understanding that accessibility is a mindset that changes impossible to all that is possible,” said &nbsp;<strong>Angela Hildyard</strong>,&nbsp;ֱ's vice-president, human resources and equity.</div> <div><img alt="David Peterson at Pan Am reception" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-12-parapan-reception-petersen.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 433px; margin: 10px 30px;">(<em>Above:&nbsp;Pan Am/Parapan Am Games chair David Peterson speaks with ֱ students at the reception</em>)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Hildyard noted the impressive size and scope of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games as being the largest international multi-sport event in Canada’s history – and the first to be fully integrated and accessible.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>She highlighted that with approximately 16,000 athletes and a record 28 countries competing in 15 sports, this is also the largest Parapan Am Games yet.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“An impressive series of multicultural events from music to food to art and dance has seized our campuses and our region, adding to Toronto’s international reputation for inclusivity, energy, excitement and opportunity,” said Hildyard. “It’s all part of this city’s amazing atmosphere and a powerful transformation of cultural attitudes.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The University provided a home for&nbsp;many&nbsp;Parapan events&nbsp;– with the Scarborough campus hosting swimming, sitting volleyball and wheelchair tennis while the downtown campus hosting&nbsp;field hockey, football 5-a-side and 7-a-side and archery – and Pan Am events. As a result, Hildyard said, the Games&nbsp;have strengthened a “mutually-enriching relationship between the University of Toronto and the Toronto region.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/parapan-am-preview-pick-sport-youve-never-seen-and-prepare-be-amazed">Parapan Am:&nbsp;“Pick a sport you've never seen before and prepare to be amazed”</a></h2> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>David Onley</strong>, ֱ's&nbsp;Special Ambassador to the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, said the success of the Games is the result of years of planning and partnerships across the GTA. He celebrated the multitude of volunteers, including “University of Toronto staff, students, faculty and alumni of every description.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Onley said he threw his agreement behind commentator speculation that the Games, even as they continue, have already proved to be a success. He described the event as embodying the values of athleticism, competition, collegiality, inclusiveness as well as the spirit of camaraderie.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/david-onley-parasport-rise-and-heres-why">Onley: Parasport is on the rise and here's why</a></h2> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>To that point, Onley reflected on his experience watching one of the Parapan swimming competitions where a last-placed athlete finished a full lap and a half behind the other competitors – and yet received a standing ovation when he reached the final marker.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Minor detail, he didn’t have any legs. He swam the whole race just with arm strength,” said Onley.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“This is an indication of the impact that Parapan has on people.”</div> <p><img alt="DEYS official perform at reception" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-12-parapan-reception-DEYS.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 389px; margin: 10px 30px;">(<em>Above:&nbsp;sibling musical group&nbsp;DEYSofficial, including UTSC students, perform their original song at the ֱ Parapan Am reception</em>.) (<a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/toronto-2015-pan-amparapan-am-games-highlights-first-weeks">Read more about DEYSofficial and watch a video of the Pan Am/Parapan Am song they composed by clicking through to the end of this Pan Am highlights story.</a>)</p> <div>Onley added that the&nbsp;Parapan games were conceived for exactly this purpose, <span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">“</span>bringing people of the Americas together in fellowship, in friendly competition at the highest level,<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">”&nbsp;</span>and to help the world see&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">“</span>absolutely amazing athletes who just happen to have a disability.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“I believe we are at a kind of tipping point. When we watch high-level parasport competitions we see awe-inspiring athletic performance. The reality of the disability comes afterward,<span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">”&nbsp;</span>said Onley.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“And that’s ultimately the goal of all social and government policy relating to accessibility: to see the ability of the person and take the disability as just another aspect of their personal characteristics alongside such things as hair colour and eye colour.”</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-12-parapan-reception.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 12 Aug 2015 09:42:37 +0000 sgupta 7203 at Parapan Am preview: “Pick a sport you’ve never seen before and prepare to be amazed” /news/parapan-am-preview-pick-sport-youve-never-seen-and-prepare-be-amazed <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Parapan Am preview: “Pick a sport you’ve never seen before and prepare to be amazed”</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-05T09:36:27-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - 09:36" class="datetime">Wed, 08/05/2015 - 09:36</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Sitting volleyball is one of the events hosted by the University of Toronto Scarborough (photo by Matthew Murnaghan/Canadian Paralympic Committee)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sports" hreflang="en">Sports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am" hreflang="en">Parapan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-am" hreflang="en">Pan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">ֱ Special Ambassador David Onley shares his must-watch list </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>The final stretch of games showcasing athletic talent from across the Americas kicks off in Toronto on&nbsp;August&nbsp;7, with the opening ceremonies for the largest-ever Parapan Am Games.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>A week of competitions featuring popular parasports such as wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and swimming – as well as those that may be new to many spectators, such as boccia and goalball – includes many events on ֱ campuses.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>At the University of Toronto Scarborough,&nbsp;the <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/welcome-toronto-pan-am-sports-centre">CIBC Pan Am / Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House </a>will host swimming and sitting volleyball and the&nbsp;new Tennis Centre will host wheelchair tennis. The downtown&nbsp;campus will host field hockey, football 5-a-side and 7-a-side at the Pan Am/Parapan Am Fields and&nbsp;archery competitions at Varsity Stadium.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>David Onley</strong> is a senior lecturer and distinguished visitor at UTSC as well as ֱ’s Special Ambassador for the <a href="http://panam2015.utoronto.ca/">Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am&nbsp;Games</a>. He shared his most anticipated events for the upcoming games, as well as a few words of advice to spectators – regardless of whether they’ll be watching from stadium seats, their television sets, or Nathan Phillips Square.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What’s ahead for you in your role as Special Ambassador for the Parapan Am Games?</strong></div> <div>I’ve had the enormous privilege in representing the university for the Pan Am and now the ParaPan Am Games. It’s been a wonderful experience meeting the athletes, the organizers, the volunteers, and people from the administration who’ve been working behind the scenes and I’ve enjoyed being able to attend so many events. I’m looking forward to being able to continue that with the ParaPans. Since I’m based out of UTSC, where so many events occur, it’s a wonderful opportunity to show off the facility because it certainly is of Olympian and world standards.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What’s the significance of ֱ hosting so many events for PanAm and Parapan Am, in your view?</strong></div> <div>I think it was a fantastic idea that turned quite a significant involvement, with so many events being hosted on our campuses, from swimming to fencing and more. The success was proven out in short order when athletes who are University of Toronto alumni or current students started to win medals.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>So far the PanAms have been a great opportunity for members of the university community to meet fellow ֱ personnel, including <strong>Zack Chetrat</strong> and <strong>Rosie MacLennan</strong>, and others who in some cases didn’t win medals but ended up qualifying for the Olympics in Rio. Not all victories come with medals. It’s also been a fabulous chance for ֱ to showcase itself to the public and to connect within the greater university community.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>And when things Pan Am/Parapan happen, it gives us at the university the deserved reputation of being affiliated with sport. In the case of the men’s wheelchair basketball, regardless of where teams place within the Parapans and then in Rio, the focal point will be drawn back to training and competition facilitated by the University of Toronto, and that will apply wherever we increasingly have involvement with parasport.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/david-onley-parasport-rise-and-heres-why">growth of and interest in parasport</a> is something I believe we have a great opportunity to seize at this university, so that whenever people think of swimmers with disabilities they think of the facilities and community at ֱ, or whenever they think of wheelchair basketball or wheelchair rugby they also make that connection. Nothing but good can come from that.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Any advice that you’d like to pass on to spectators and readers?</strong></div> <div>I tell people to simply go to the games. Pick a sport you’ve never seen before and prepare to be amazed. Until you have seen a blind swimmer, until you have seen athletes competing in wheelchair rugby or wheelchair basketball, you don’t realize and can’t appreciate the raw athleticism of these individuals. And as you watch that and get caught up in the excitement of the competition itself, it’s only when the play is finished and the applause dies down that the secondary aspect of it being a parasport hits you with a wallop.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>I felt that quite significantly in the men’s final in wheelchair basketball when we took the gold in 2012. It wasn’t until the game was over that it really sunk in: this was not only a great victory for Canada, not only a great basketball game, but to achieve it these guys had to individually overcome significant situations in their lives, whether it was accident or disease. Then it really does give you a different interpretation about the sport, about the individuals competing, and about disability. My urging would be: if you’ve never seen any of these sport events, just get out there and see how quickly you get caught up in the moment of it.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Which events are you most highly anticipating?</strong></div> <div>The basketball, both men and women, is very exciting. But the lesson I learned from Pan Am is to deliberately go to a sport you’ve never seen before. I ended up seeing two evenings of fencing at the Pan Ams and, to be candid, I don’t think I previously would have spent more than five seconds watching a fencing match on TV. But once I got to see it in person, it was enormously fascinating. The same thing with trampoline. Yes, it was great to see Rosie McLennan and to see if she would win, which she did. But I’d never been to a trampoline event before. Go to sports you’ve never seen and prepare to be very surprised, because I certainly was.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Also, if you haven’t had the chance to go to Nathan Phillips Square in the evenings, with the main square packed with entertainment and the buzz of different sporting events going on around the big screens – get yourself there. It’s an awful lot of fun.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/david-onley-parasport-rise-and-heres-why">Read more about parasport and why it's on the rise</a>.</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-05-SittingVolleyball2.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 05 Aug 2015 13:36:27 +0000 sgupta 7191 at Champion for sport: meet alumna and paracyclist Shelley Gautier /news/champion-sport-meet-alumna-and-paracyclist-shelley-gautier <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Champion for sport: meet alumna and paracyclist Shelley Gautier</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-05T06:00:06-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - 06:00" class="datetime">Wed, 08/05/2015 - 06:00</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Shelley Gautier in July, after being chosen for the Parapan Am team (photo by Eric Thibault/Canadian Paralympic Committee)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/janet-rowe" hreflang="en">Janet Rowe</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Janet Rowe</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sport-alumni" hreflang="en">Sport. ֱ</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am" hreflang="en">Parapan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-pam" hreflang="en">Pan Pam</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>On a tricycle, alumna <strong>Shelley Gautier</strong>&nbsp;is the world’s fastest woman. She’s a nine-time Paracycling Road World Champion (including the gold she won just last week in Switzerland).</p> <p>A silver medallist last time the Parapan Am Games were held, she’s going for the top of the podium when this year’s Games begin in Toronto.</p> <p>But Gautier, 47, is about much more than gold and glory – she’s dedicating her life to helping others find happiness through sport. Through her <a href="http://sgpsf.ca/index.html">Shelley Gautier Para-Sport Foundation</a>, she’s actively working to make sports more accessible, and to create programs – around the world – in which people with a disability can not only play the games they love, but work as coaches, trainers and in related jobs.</p> <p>It’s about more than fitness. “I want people with disabilities to be involved in their community,” she says. “They can do something good for other people. And we can get people with disabilities employed so we can do good for them as well.”</p> <p>This extraordinary career began after a mountain biking accident in 2001. A head injury put Gautier into a coma for six weeks, then eight months of intensive rehabilitation. She has hemiplegia, meaning paralysis on one side of her body.</p> <p>Gautier first took up disabled sailing, then switched to cycling. She competes in the T1 tricycle class – the extra wheel provides assistance with balance. (Below: Gautier competes in the London 2012 Olympics/ photo by Phillip MacCallum/Canadian Paralympic Committee.)</p> <p><img alt="photo of Gautier cycling at Olympics" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-04-gautier-olympics.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 417px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>Hemiplegia affects not just the physical race but also her strategy.</p> <p>“I have some motion in my right leg,” she explains, “so I'm pedalling with both but less my one side. Steering is challenging. I have brakes and gears on my left side of my handlebar because [although] I am able to grab the handlebar with my right hand, I can't do much with it. Because all the steering is done with my left hand, right turns can be difficult. I can't go narrow, I have to make a big sweep.”</p> <p>Gautier, who has a physiotherapy degree from ֱ, stayed involved with her alma mater for many years. She taught anatomy as a teaching assistant for the <a href="http://www.ot.utoronto.ca/">department of occupational science and occupational therapy</a>.&nbsp;Along with competing, it’s good background for understanding why physical fitness is especially healthy for people with disabilities – linked to better physical health and increased happiness.</p> <p><img alt="photo of Gautier with medal" src="/sites/default/files/2015-08-04-sgautier05_cyc_guadalajara_mmedallist.jpg" style="width: 225px; height: 333px; margin: 10px; float: left;">Gautier knows how happiness and racing are connected. “Feels good [to be racing]!” she says. “I really want to win.” A favourite memory is winning the world championships: “Being first and having somebody pass me and then pass them, you know, it's just very nice,” she smiles.</p> <p>(At left: Gautier wins silver at&nbsp;at the 2011 Parapan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico/ photo by Matthew Murnaghan/Canadian Paralympic Committee.)</p> <p>The Shelley Gautier Foundation’s first project was to organize a recreational paracycling program this summer in Hamilton, Ontario, where athletes were provided with equipment and six weeks of paid coaching. The Foundation plans to take para-cycling into schools and create programs for other sports, such as sailing and sledge hockey, too.&nbsp;</p> <p>And then there’s Gautier’s plans for Kenya. She’s working with The Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation to start a tandem riding program at a school for the blind that could eventually develop into an elite-level women’s paracycling team.</p> <p>Why include elite sports as well as local programs? “Hopefully,” says Gautier, “people with disabilities can see me competing, and think that they can do it as well.” She’s found that being at the top level has helped her personally, despite the rigorous training schedule of five two-hour bike rides a week, and a weight routine all winter.</p> <p>“Competition has taught me that whatever I can do, I can do,” she says. “And I think that's important for people to know, that if they have a goal that is realistic, they should go after it.”</p> <p>Regardless of her place on the Parapan Am podium, Gautier has a lot on the go. She’s training for the Rio Olympics, and of course there is the foundation. “I wanted some legacy so that disabled people aren't forgotten after the Parapan Ams,” she says, explaining why she launched the organization.</p> <p>In November, she will be awarded the 2015 University of Toronto, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy ֱ Association Above &amp; Beyond Award.</p> <p>Watch: Shelley Gautier #Paratough from the Canadian Paralympic Committee:</p> <p><br> <iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pLx0ru0X43k?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-04-parapan-gaultier.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 05 Aug 2015 10:00:06 +0000 sgupta 7187 at David Onley: parasport is on the rise and here’s why /news/david-onley-parasport-rise-and-heres-why <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">David Onley: parasport is on the rise and here’s why</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-08-05T05:42:04-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - 05:42" class="datetime">Wed, 08/05/2015 - 05:42</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Honourable David Onley, Special Ambassador for the Pan Am and Parapan American Games, at the state-of-the-art Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre at University of Toronto Scarborough (photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/brianna-goldberg" hreflang="en">Brianna Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Brianna Goldberg</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sport" hreflang="en">Sport</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parapan-am" hreflang="en">Parapan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pan-am" hreflang="en">Pan Am</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item"> “No longer just an afterthought, but worthy of its own coverage and its own place in the sporting pantheon”</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><div>With the largest-ever Parapan Am Games set to launch in Toronto on&nbsp;August 7, <strong>David Onley </strong>– Ontario’s former Lieutenant Governor and ֱ’s Special Ambassador for the games – says some of the most exciting competitions have yet to hit the field.“</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Parasport is experiencing a “tipping point moment” in terms of audience interest and support, Onley says,&nbsp;adding that&nbsp;in such a moment of change lies a powerful opportunity to transform cultural attitudes.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“Until you have seen a blind swimmer, until you have seen athletes competing in wheelchair rugby or wheelchair basketball, you don’t realize and can’t appreciate the raw athleticism of these individuals,” said Onley, in his <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/parapan-am-preview-%E2%80%9Cpick-sport-you%E2%80%99ve-never-seen-and-prepare-be-amazed%E2%80%9D">preview to the Parapan Games</a> for ֱ News.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“As you watch that and get caught up in the excitement of the competition itself, it’s only when the play is finished and the applause dies down that the secondary aspect of it being a parasport hits you with a wallop.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Onley explained his view of the trend ahead of the final week of competition at the&nbsp;<a href="http://panam2015.utoronto.ca/">Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games</a>.</div> <div> <hr> <p><strong>London 2012 was the breakthrough Olympics for parasport – and interest is only getting stronger</strong></p> </div> <div>Over the last number of years, probably the last 10 or 12 years, the impact of the Paralympics and the Parapan Games has increased quite dramatically. Here in Canada, Vancouver 2010 saw a significant growth in the television audience for parasport compared to Beijing in 2008 – and those numbers were already pretty good. But London’s 2012 paralympic games shattered ratings of any prior games, making them comparable in the coverage with that of the Olympic games.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>It raised everyone’s awareness that parasport was no longer just an afterthought, but worthy of its own coverage and its own place in the sporting pantheon. Previously, the layers of sport were major league, minor league, amateur. Parasports, I would say candidly, were last to public consciousness – until Vancouver and London raised awareness to the point where people want to see and participate in these events simply because they know they’re going to see significant athletic displays.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Parasport’s transformative power thrives on education, policy,&nbsp;impact of broadcast on TV and web</strong></div> <div>Here in Ontario, increasingly awareness has come about from the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the growth in courses at post-secondary levels (I’m thinking of programs at York, Windsor, Brock, Western and others, including a course I’m teaching this fall at UTSC on the politics of disability).</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This combines with many other layers of support, including advocacy, government studies and more.&nbsp;But I believe the collective impact on a society is that, where all these other non-sport-related activities have been going on, we see athletic events on television and see that these are not disabled people who are attempting to put on some sort of an athletic demonstration or deserve sympathy. What we see instead are significant athletes who just happen to have a disability. And that’s a major shift, a significant shift.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>When I see a blind skier shooting down the slopes with their guide alongside them, giving directions on where to turn and how hard to cut, I’m just blown away. I’m not thinking, “Well, look at that fine blind person.” I’m thinking, “How did that person do that?!”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Compare&nbsp;that to me sitting on a sit-ski device, which I have used in the past to go down the bunny hill and ended up breathless… to then watch athletes competing at that level, notwithstanding the fact of their disability, it’s quite a thing to see.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>But what you’re looking at with these high-level parasport competitions is the athletic performance – the reality of the disability comes afterwards, or is put to the side. And that, ultimately, is the goal of all social and government policy relating to disability: to see the ability of the person, and take their disability as just another aspect of their personal characteristics alongside things like hair colour or eye colour.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Audience ratings continue to drive&nbsp;a positive feedback loop of support and interest in parasport</strong></div> <div>I would like to think Rio will be a very interesting test as to how far things can progress and it’s not that far down the road. London was the breakout event in terms of television coverage for parasport (and it’s too bad that we have to measure success on the basis of TV but it is a good measure). Since most of us won’t be able to get to Rio, we will be relying on TV.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Television responds to public demand. Public demand is what added additional hours of coverage by the CBC in the past few weeks to the Toronto Pan Am Games. And if public demand is there, there will be increased coverage of parasports, too, which leads to greater acceptance within the entire culture and community.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Canada is unique in its legacy of parasport heroes like Terry Fox and Rick Hansen</strong></div> <div>We are unique as a country that when we have any list of the top 10 or 20 icons or personalities in Canadian history that Terry Fox and Rick Hansen are always included. We’re the only place on the planet that has that. They truly were trailblazers and, in many ways, Rick continues to be with the ongoing contributions he’s making to spinal cord research.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>They set the tone and they set the way and for athletes made it that much easier to get involved and be accepted. That’s what I hope will come about as we go through the ParaPans and Rio: that people will take it as an opportunity to see athletes who just happen to have a disability as opposed to tuning in with a sympathetic attitude, which, in a bygone era, was definitely the case.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The sympathy angle was a part of the cultural reality. It’s been a long, long process to be accepted as individuals and the athletes who have participated in these sports are the ones able to do that to a very real extent.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>They capture the public’s imagination and attention. They keep up the process of changing attitudes from where people with disabilities receive sympathy to instead turn it to what it should be, where it’s just another part of the human condition. We still have a way to go on that, but parasport has a significant role to play.&nbsp;</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-08-05-onley-rise-parasport.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 05 Aug 2015 09:42:04 +0000 sgupta 7192 at