Backgrounder

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.  Every team member must complete one lap around the .75km course for a total of 6 km per team. 

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 Canadian Paraplegic Association’s services and programs. The goals of the relay are:  

• to promote awareness of the abilities of people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities
• to promote full community participation of people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities through emphasizing the need for universal design and positive attitudes
• to raise funds for support services for local individuals with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities 

From the first two relays in Ottawa and Toronto held 15 years ago, the Ontario events have grown to include relays in Barrie, Brantford, Cornwall, Hamilton, London, Niagara Falls, 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. 

Apart from the Relay itself, the event features food, an aerobics warm-up, activities for children, clowns and other entertainment...fun for the whole family!