Program exposing new generation to parasport

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Dan Plouffe

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EMC sports - Through Hervé Lord's 19-year career with the Canadian national sledge hockey team, he played in numerous Paralympic and world championships finals all across the globe.

Although the 54-year-old Ottawa resident has now settled into retirement from international competition following the Vancouver 2010 Games, it doesn't mean he spends any less time on his sled nowadays. It just means his role has shifted from Team Canada leader to future Team Canada builder.

Lord now works with Hockey Canada on a development program for up-and-coming sledge hockey players, frequently makes school visits to help raise awareness about athletic opportunities for people with disabilities, and helps get injured Afghanistan veterans into the game in conjunction with the Soldier On program.

And on Saturday, Feb. 11, he was on the Rideau Canal introducing his sport to a Winterlude crowd at the Canadian Paralympic Committee's Winter Parasport Festival.

"It's been a great reward" to stay involved in sledge hockey, says Lord, who credits the stage provided by the home Olympics and Paralympics for spurring further interest and participation in the game.

"Now they really know what sledge hockey is because they've seen it," adds Lord, who joined the national team at age 33 after losing his right leg in a car accident.

Despite the type of advancements Lord has witnessed over the past two decades, recruitment remains a major focus for the CPC - not only in finding athletes, but also volunteers, coaches and administrators.

"It takes a lot of different people to run a sports system in a community, so we're looking for a lot of people to get involved," explains Laura Ferris, a member of the CPC's sport development committee who directed the event at Winterlude. "It doesn't mean you need to have a disability to come out and try the sport. We figure the best way to hook people and get them involved is to have them try it."

Along with a wheelchair curling demonstration, the CPC invited the general population to hop on a sled and see how they'd do pushing their way around the canal with ice picks on the butt end of two small hockey sticks - with numerous current and former national team members there to help show them the ropes as well.

Having able-bodied people take part in sports for athletes with a disability can also be an important development tool for elite teams so that they are able to challenge themselves regularly against top competition before their limited number of international events.

"Sometimes within a community, there aren't enough people with disabilities to make a wheelchair basketball team, so often able-bodied people will jump in the chairs and play," notes Ferris, who also leads a similar summertime event on Canada Day. "There are a lot of communities across Canada that don't have opportunities, but that is growing and changing. And there's a lot of sports in Ottawa available for people with disabilities, so that's great."

One such opportunity is the Sledge Hockey of Eastern Ontario league, where Lord still plays on Friday evenings. The league - which is divided only by skill, not age or gender as would be the case in able-bodied hockey - always welcomes new members.

"I don't think we'll ever see that. We don't have enough disabled athletes compared to able-bodied" to create additional divisions, says Lord. "It's always been big for us to bring able-bodied athletes in at the house league level. It's fantastic."

Visit paralympic.ca/getinvolved for more information.




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