October 12, 2018

Medicine Hat Adaptive Sport and Recreation (MHASR) has been chosen to receive $1 for each birdie and $5 for every eagle, at the 2018 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Ping National Championships from October 16-19, courtesy of TSG Insurance.  

For Terry Ballard, manager of sports and wellness at Medicine Hat College (MHC), the local organization is a perfect fit for the event.

“The team at Adaptive Sport and Recreation is a dedicated group of people. They work hard to provide children and adults with disabilities a way to enhance their social, physical and mental health through adapted recreational and sporting activities. It is nice to be able to give them a national stage to promote all the great things they do. ”

 Tara Chisholm, program coordinator for MHASR mentions that they are honoured to be selected.

“We are excited to use this opportunity to let people know that organizations like ours exist. We are so used to seeing disabled sport organizations in larger municipalities. Hopefully by having us recognized on this type of platform, people can start to realize that you don’t have to live in a major metropolitan to be a part of a strong, sporting community.”

Currently, MHASR has athletes that participate in sports ranging from sledge hockey and wheelchair basketball to adaptive cycling and challenger baseball. Chisholm mentions however, that the list continues to grow.

“All of our sports were started because someone in the community expressed an interest. Once we know what people want, we try our best to make it happen. Whether that be through writing grants and finding funding or getting equipment and hosting try-it-events – our volunteers are very committed.”

Chisholm mentions that one of the volunteers for the organization, Derek Whitson, is competing on the MHC Rattlers golf team.

“We do have athletes that participate in the sport of golf on their own. However, one of our lead volunteers, Derek is actually competing in nationals. He is so supportive of our younger athletes with disabilities and committed to helping them learn about golf. It is our hope that one day, we could start a para-golf program here in Medicine Hat.”

To learn more about MHASR, visit www.mhasr.com.

To stay connected with this year’s golf nationals, visit: www.ccaa.ca.