RICHMOND, B.C. – ParaTough Cup fuelled by Petro-Canada™ was held at the Richmond Olympic Oval for the second straight year last Friday and the event raised more than $67,000 for sport for people with a disability.
That was an increase of more than $12,000 over last year’s inaugural event on the West coast.
A total of 12 teams participated, competing in different Paralympic sports like sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, and Para ice hockey.
Team Petro-Canada, who lost last year by two points, placed first in the overall standings followed by RBC while Canadian Sport Institute Pacific and Fasken tied for third. The other teams entered were Pfizer, Bell, Toyota, HBC, Teck, Roomkey, Inventa and Summit Customs Brokers.
The event was co- emceed by retired Paralympic sitting volleyball player Shacarra Orr with CTV Morning Live’s Jason Pires. Other Para athletes were also on hand to help with the sports and meet the teams including:
- Greg Stewart, fresh from a silver medal in shotput at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai just a week earlier
- Retired wheelchair basketball players, both three-time Paralympic gold medallists, Marni Abbott Peter and Richard Peter as well as current team member Tara Llanes
- Para swimmer Michael Edgson, the most decorated Paralympic athlete in Canadian history, who also competed and was team captain for RBC.
- Wheelchair racer Teri Thorson, who competed at the Athens Games
“Everyone was super involved and excited to learn about the sports,’’ said Orr. ‘’This is a great event to keep advancing the movement, opening those conversations and just removing the stigma around disability.’’
Before becoming a throwing star in Para athletics, Stewart was a member of Canada’s men’s sitting volleyball team.
‘’I really wanted people to try out the sport,’’ said Stewart. ‘’I think they definitely got a new appreciation for the challenges that we go through. But it was all done for a great cause and the participants had a lot of fun. As an athlete it meant a lot to me.’’
Edgson works for RBC, the event’s defending champion, as a retirement investment planner.
‘’It is such a fun event,’’ said Edgson. ‘’We’re raising money and we have fantastic support. It really brings the awareness piece and hopefully we’re starting to transition from awareness to competitiveness so it’s not a Paralympic sport but a sport you can bring more people into.’’
Sabira Charlesworth, a participant who works in sales with Pfizer said she gained an additional appreciation for Para sport.
‘’I first heard of Para sport at the 2010 Games,’’ she said. ‘’After participating today in several sports I have so much respect for our Paralympians. I don’t know how they do it so well. It’s great fun but we were only barely scratching the surface of what these athletes can do.’’
The next ParaTough Cup fuelled by Petro-Canada™ is February 20, 2020 in Calgary.
For more information, please visit Paralympic.ca/foundation/paratough-cup.
