CALGARY – Hudson’s Bay Company repeated as the Calgary champions of ParaTough Cup fuelled by Petro-Canada™ on Thursday, but more importantly $76,000 was raised to grow sporting opportunities for people with a disability in Canada.
ParaTough Cup is the flagship fundraising event of the Paralympic Foundation of Canada and this year at the Repsol Sport Centre in Calgary, 12 teams were entered. Toyota and Deloitte tied for second in the team standings.
“It’s great to return to Calgary for a second ParaTough Cup,” said Dean Brokop, director of the Paralympic Foundation of Canada. “We have a few more teams than last year, and a few more dollars raised so that’s all we can really ask for.”
Each team, comprised of six participants, tested their Para sport skills in activities such as wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, Para ice hockey and athletics. Teams entered had committed to raise at least $5,000 to participate, and they earned points for both their sport performance and fundraising skills.
‘’This is an important fundraising event for us,” said Carl Morton of the winning HBC team. ‘’You need a lot of commitment to play these sports and we want to help raise funds so the kids have the equipment and all the tools to play these sports.’’
New for this year, title sponsor Petro-Canada is matching fundraising dollars up to $10,000 and giving participants the chance to win free gas for a year.
Shacarra Orr, a member of Canada’s 2016 Paralympic Games sitting volleyball team and an athlete ambassador for the Canadian team at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was the co-emcee of the event.
‘’It was a great experience for everyone involved,’’ said Orr. ‘’The teams were really into it, they were asking a lot of questions about the sports and enjoying the learning process. For the athletes it’s wonderful to be here and giving back. I really love hearing people’s perception of Para sports and their questions and educating them on what we do and why it’s important.’’
Other local Paralympians and Para athletes on hand included Rio 2016 javelin silver medallist Alister McQueen as well as Para ice hockey national team member Cody Dolan and head coach Ken Babey.
Calgary is the third event of the 2019-20 season, with stops in Montreal and Vancouver last fall bringing in over $171,000. The final event of the year will be in Toronto on March 5.
‘’What’s unique about this event is it gets people exposed to Para sport,’’ said Brokop. ‘’When we get them trying wheelchair basketball or sitting volleyball it’s a great way to get them to understand how great it is and how tough it is.’’
The Paralympic Foundation of Canada is the philanthropic arm of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and believes that every Canadian with a disability should be able to imagine themselves at the start line, regardless of ability. The Foundation raises funds to provide more Canadians with a disability the opportunity to be active in their communities and strive for success on the world stage.
For more information about ParaTough Cup fuelled by Petro-Canada™, please visit Paralympic.ca/paratough-cup.
