Calgary Sports Leaders Launch New Website to Support Families Seeking Adapted Sport and Recreation
Media Release for immediate release
Calgary Sport Leaders Launch New Website to Support Families Seeking Adapted Sport and Recreation
Calgary, Alberta – The Calgary Adapted Hub powered by Jumpstart has launched a new website for families with a child or adolescent living with disability – and the organizations, educators, and medical teams that serve them – to navigate adapted and inclusive sport and recreation options within Calgary. The site offers a directory of adapted and inclusive programming from the Calgary Adapted Hub (CAH) program partners, which includes the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, City of Calgary Recreation, Sport Calgary, Vivo, Repsol Sport Centre, and WinSport, as well as access to personalized family services to assist in navigating options and supports available. This site will also serve as an information and resource hub for all sport leaders to support the development of inclusive and accessible programming for children and adolescents of all abilities, driven by evidence-based research.
More information can be found at: http://www.calgaryadaptedhub.com
“We’re trying to help children and youth living with disabilities find a perfect program for physical activity and perhaps explore options previously not considered,” shared David Legg, PhD, Co-Chair of the Calgary Adapted and Professor at Mount Royal University. “Our goal is to break down barriers to participation, help navigate what might seem like a complicated system and ultimately find an activity that will exceed expectations.”
“We have the unique opportunity to support the development and scaling up of evidence-informed adapted physical activity programming for youth living with disabilities,” says Carolyn Emery, PhD, Co-Chair of the Calgary Adapted Hub and Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and chair of the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary. “The opportunity to bridge the gap between research and best practice in the delivery of adapted sport and recreation programs in Calgary will optimize health outcomes for youth with disabilities.”
“Sport and recreation will play a critical role in helping kids to overcome the trauma they experienced throughout the pandemic,” said Marco Di Buono, Associate Vice President of Programs and Operations, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. “We are delighted to work with our partners at the Calgary Adapted Hub to launch this innovative platform, which will serve as an invaluable resource for families who struggle to find safe and welcoming sport and recreation options for their child with a disability. Initiatives like this will indeed help us build back better!”
“Having recently arrived in Calgary, in a COVID-19 ridden moment, we were at a loss for finding a sports opportunity for Federico, our mobility challenged son who adores playing wheelchair basketball and loves sports in general. After three months he was beginning to wane and we were worried. That’s when we discovered the CAH and have been overjoyed by the attention they have given us!” said Barbara Lee, a local parent who has been using the Calgary Adapted Hub family services. “With a professional but very caring demeanour, they gathered information from our son about his past sporting experience and his aspirations for the future. Within a remarkably short time we received emails with the fruits of the research they had done for us and to the utmost joy of our son we have been in contact with two of his high ranking choices for sports endeavours. We cannot thank CAH enough for the doors they have opened for our son, allowing him to focus his sights on a brighter future with prospects for better mental and physical health and the possibility of some socialization which could bring a new friend or two!”
The CAH aims to serve as a pathfinder, travel companion, and motivator on the journey to participation for children, adolescents and families experiencing disability. These services are also available to those who work directly with children and adolescents with a disability, such as educators, rehabilitation and therapeutic practitioners, and physicians. The ultimate goal is to get more kids, more active, more often.
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About the Calgary Adapted Hub powered by Jumpstart:
Calgary Adapted Hub is a collective of Calgary-based organizations committed to providing quality sport and recreation opportunities for children, youth, and families living with disabilities in the city of Calgary. The collective is supported by Canadian Tire Jumpstart, and was mentored by the Abilities Centre in Whitby, Ontario.
The Hub was founded in 2020 to make sport and recreation more inclusive for children, youth, and families living with disabilities that are physical, intellectual, sensory, developmental, or otherwise. We are made stronger by the contributions of our partners, each of which is a leader in the field of adapted sport and recreation with their own area of expertise. From innovative programming to ground-breaking research, they aspire to be at the forefront of disability servicing. Partners include: The University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, City of Calgary Recreation, Sport Calgary, Vivo for Healthier Generations, Repsol Sport Centre, and WinSport.
Follow Calgary Adapted Hub on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or contact info@calgaryadaptedhub.com for more information.
About Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities:
Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is a national charity committed to ensuring kids in need have equal access to sport and recreation. With an extensive, national network of more than 1,000 grantees and 289 local chapters, Jumpstart helps eligible families cover the costs of registration, transportation, and equipment, and provides funding to selected organizations for recreational infrastructure and programming. Supported by the Canadian Tire Family of Companies, Jumpstart has provided more than two million opportunities for Canadian kids to get in the game since 2005. For more information, visit jumpstart.canadiantire.ca.
Follow Jumpstart on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to learn about how the Charity is giving kids across Canada a sporting chance
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For media inquiries:
Karen Dommett, Program Manager
kdommett@calgaryadaptedhub.com
403.510.7307