Inclusive athletics for local talents
Eight local athletes had a time to remember in Mont Tremblant, giving it their all in a variety of sporting events as part of the Tournée À Vos Marques. Courtesy Connecting Horizons
Stopping in Mont Tremblant last weekend, the Tournée À Vos Marques, a travelling competition day for accessible sports for those with special needs, had a team from Kahnawake go up north and join in on the fun.
Iris Phillips, advocacy program coordinator at Connecting Horizons, said that the invitation was first sent to the Sports and Recreation Unit (SRU), who told Phillips about it.
“I thought this was a great opportunity to showcase our town and our community, because everybody knows that we produce these amazing athletes,” said Phillips.
Eight athletes from the community traveled to Mont Tremblant to take part, receiving special purple workout shirts for the occasion.
The shirts, supplied by the SRU, featured a sweetgrass infinity symbol as well as two individuals - one in a wheelchair and the other holding up a heart - with the Hiawatha Belt between them.
Team Kahnawake was received with open arms at the competition.
“Everybody was really welcoming and warm in their greeting. It was just making the athletes and I feel over the moon,” said Phillips.
A huge variety of indoor competitions were in store for the athletes. Some were more traditional track and field disciplines, like long-jump, a 25-metre sprint, shot-put, and high-jump.
There was also battle rope - the exercise where you shake ropes as fast as you can - an obstacle course, bocce ball, tossing beanbags into hoops, and a sensory board where participants had to hit lights as they appeared.
Participants did the events they could, Phillips said, to the best of their ability - for example, the sprint was open to those in wheelchairs or who use other mobility assistance devices. Some went slowly; some went so fast, the impression was they could have run through the gym wall if given the chance.
“They set things up so that they’re not only challenging their skill level, they’re challenging their competitive nature and fostering fun,” said Phillips.
“The smiles, the pride, and the thrill of competition was there. They were beaming, you really couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces. They were going full tilt.”
Phillips gave the example of Michael Dell, one of the participants, who is in a wheelchair due to his cerebral palsy.
He participated in the sprint, did the bocce ball, did shotput, and took part in an obstacle course for wheelchair users.
“People automatically think ‘you’re in a wheelchair, you can’t do these things,’ but he was out there doing them,” said Phillips.
At the end of the day, all were given medals for their efforts.
She said the event was a huge success for everyone.
Some of them even got to experience some of what Mont Tremblant had to offer the night before the competition, staying the night in a hotel.
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“It is a different vibe out there. Everything is woodsy and kind of laid back, and we got a chance to jump in the pools. They ate pizza that they would never eat,” said Phillips.
“We are so happy that we were able to help facilitate this event to get them out of town to do something different, and also to see competition at their level. They got to see others that are like them, and the competition between them.”
Phillips said the athletes can’t wait until next time.
“We were doing it as a trial to see what it was and what it was like, and we really enjoyed it. It’s a different feeling altogether when the event is set up specifically for these individuals, and it was amazing. I couldn’t put a price tag on it,” she said.
