TORONTO WHEELCHAIR RELAY CHALLENGE!

Backgrounder

 This year marks the 14th Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA) Ontario Toronto Wheelchair Relay Challenge. Teams of 8 people will participate in this year’s event at Yorkdale Shopping Centre.  More than 1,200 people will be in attendance at the event including wheelers with and without disabilities, volunteers, friends, families and colleagues – all in support of CPA Ontario. 

The first Wheelchair Relay Challenge was held in Alberta in 1988. Since that time, wheelers have been joining together across Canada to raise funds for CPA Ontario’s services and programs. The goals of the relay are:  

• to promote awareness of the abilities of people with physical disabilities
• to promote full community participation of people with physical disabilities through emphasizing the need for universal design and positive attitudes
• to raise funds for support services for local individuals with physical disabilities Since 1996, the Toronto Wheelchair Relay Challenge has raised almost $2.5 million for individuals with physical disabilities.

In Ontario, the event has grown to include relays in Barrie, Brantford, Cornwall, Hamilton, London, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Owen Sound, Orillia, Peterborough, South Simcoe (Alliston), Thunder Bay, Toronto, Waterloo, and Windsor.   

Among the celebrities and other sports figures who have supported the event in the past are: The Honourable Henry N.R. Jackman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Jeff Adams, Gold Medalist in the 800m at the Paralympic Games, Mark Heese and John Child, Beach Volleyball competitors in the 2000 Olympic Summer Games, and Kelly Smith, 2002 Paralympic silver medalist. 

This day at the races features corporate and community wheelchair teams made up of both people with and without disabilities as participants in an event that challenges them not only to reach for the fastest speed, but to raise funds as well. Each team is made up of 8 individuals.  Every member must complete one lap around the .75km course for a total of 6 km per team. 

Apart from the Relay itself, the event features food, an aerobics warm-up, face painting, an inflatable slide, clowns and other entertainment and fun for the whole family.