Before the Podium is where belief begins
Before an athlete can compete, they need the chance to try. The Paralympic Foundation of Canada (PFC) funds that first moment, from Para sport discovery days to NextGen high-performance programming and grants that break down the barriers of cost, equipment, and access standing between Canadians and Para sport.
Where Belief Begins
Leanne Taylor
Before the Podium: Where Belief Begins
The first challenge Leanne Taylor had to solve after her cycling injury wasn’t athletic. It was getting dressed.
“I remember learning how to put on pants again as a wheelchair user,” she says, “and then thinking, that’s so hard. What am I going to do that I actually want to put on pants for?”
It’s not the question you’d expect to lead somewhere. But for Taylor, it did.
In the weeks after her injury, she was learning what her life would look like. She assumed that the sports she loved, swimming, biking, running, were no longer possible.
Then a few Paralympians showed up in her hospital room.
They didn’t have a pitch. They just planted an idea – the belief that competing in Para sport was a possibility. “They said maybe this is an option for you,” Taylor remembers.
Our Priorities
The Paralympic Foundation of Canada works to IGNITE opportunity through the following funding areas
Introduction to Para sport
Sometimes the barrier isn’t ability, it’s knowing where to start. Through Para sport Discovery Days and grants that help identify athletes, PFC connects people to the information, opportunities, and access points that open the door to Para sport.
Adapted equipment fund
The right equipment can be the difference between watching and competing. Our Adapted Equipment Fund helps athletes overcome one of the primary barriers to participation – the high cost of adaptive equipment, which can be up to 10X more expensive than equipment for able-bodied athletes
Next Generation Athlete Programming
For athletes on the high performance pathway, the demands only grow. NextGen funding supports that journey with funding for travel, classification, coaching, and the other necessities that help athletes climb toward the podium.
Before the Podium
Where belief begins and where your support can make a big impact. Support the Paralympic Foundation of Canada.
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We believe change is a team sport. To unlock the Power of Para Sport, we need allies across sport, business and beyond.
