“Adapt the playground” so that everyone has a space to enjoy spending time outdoors.
It’s the motto that Whistler Adaptive Sports Program (WAS) lives by and the message they want to share as they concluded their Try it Day in Squamish on Thursday, Aug. 8.
The Squamish branch of WAS held a free experience day at Alice Lake Provincial Park to give anyone with a disability or neurodiversity, living in or visiting Squamish, a chance to get active and try a new sport.
“We’re doing paddling, and some work with a piece of equipment called the TrailRider, which is something that an individual can sit in and be propelled along a trail,” executive director Sian Blyth told The Squamish Chief prior to the event.
“We're making it safe, fun, affordable and inclusive, so that people can have a little taste of what we do and meet the team,” Blyth said.
How is recreation adapted?
Whistler Adaptive Sports Program is an all year round organization that offers recreation programs along the Sea to Sky Corridor—in Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish—to individuals with any type of disability.
“We adapt the playground ... to allow people with disabilities to take part in recreation,” Blyth said.
“So at our Squamish branch we have hiking and biking in the summer; at Alice Lake, we have paddling, so kayaking, canoeing, and we have adaptive swimming lessons.
“Then in the winter, we have a partnership with the Sea to Sky Gondola, and we do snowshoeing up there as well as physical literacy and strength and conditioning.
“We have very specially trained and supported staff and volunteers to be able to take an individual with those challenges out on the trails and can be fully supported.”
The ways in which WAS adapts to each recreational activity varies from a change in equipment—like a sit-ski to use on the slopes—to the time and place the sport is undertaken.
“A lot of it is just about us working with each individual to see what their support needs are,” Blyth said.
“So somebody who doesn't have good stability might be on a trike; for paddling, we have kayaks with outriggers, so they're then more stable so if someone doesn't have core balance; that way they wouldn't tip over. We also have a special sailboat in Whistler that has a keel so it can't capsize.”
Communications lead and adaptive sports coach Jen Brown further explained what adaptation looks like from a neurodiversity perspective.
“It is about the kind of considerations to the environment that we're operating in, the times when we do our program, the preparation we take in advance to coaching,” Brown said.
“It's about creating a space where each individual athlete can be as successful as possible based upon how they're experiencing the world.”
A first hand experience
Ebony MacIntosh, mother to 11-year-old Grayson, who is neurodivergent and diagnosed with Crohn's disease, said she was relieved to have found support that was tailored to her son's needs.
“I was really hesitant at first, because I often get put in touch with people who are like 'we want to help you' but what that help looks like for an individual person isn't always one size fits all,” MacIntosh said.
“The very first experience we had [with WAS], Grayson went up Whistler Blackcomb, and he went with two people, and I was so nervous; I was camped down at the bottom of the lift thinking ‘they're gonna phone me any minute, and he's not gonna do it’ but he lasted the whole day.
“He came back and he was starting to carve and he was so excited, like the expression on his face from meeting these people and being able to spend the time with them was so great.
“Six years on, now he can swim, and he's out on a kayak today, even though he swore he would never go on the lake … he is so proud of himself.”
Athlete and volunteer with Squamish WAS, Hannah Pope, encourages anyone who might be hesitant to try the program to give it a try - because it is all about having fun outdoors.
“I love being a volunteer and an athlete … because doing all the different sports keeps me active,” Pope said.
“There's nothing really to be nervous about, just have fun and enjoy the activities!”
What’s next?
Brown hopes that the Try it Day would show families that anyone can participate in recreational fun—with a bit of extra support.
“There is a space for everyone. That's the message we need to get out, especially in Squamish, because we know there's a lot of people here that would benefit from our programming and we're not reaching them,” she said.
“To anyone in Squamish with a disability, there is no situation that we can't work with, everybody who works for Whistler Adaptive really has an adapted approach to life; we will always find a way and all things are possible, you just have to do a little bit of thinking.”
Wrapping up their summer program with a bang - or perhaps more of a blast-off - on Aug 30, the Squamish WAS will host To Infinity and Beyond at Don Ross Middle School playing fields.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Brown revealed it would be a “space themed physical literacy event, with games and intergalactic adventures”.
For more information on the Squamish WAS branch and their upcoming fall program check out the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program website.
