Margaret Waring
Special to The Tribune
Students and teachers from kindergarten to Grade 7, Strong Start children and their parents and the after school Rec and Roll staff and children all recently had an opportunity to try using and learning about wheelchairs.
Let’s Play instructors came from Prince George to Williams Lake May 30 to June 1.
Children, disabled or not, with various abilities learned together and played together.
Everyone was included.
Everyone was active and enthusiastic and everyone had fun. Participants learned how to stop, turn and spin a wheelchair.
They had races, tried follow the leader and enjoyed doing some laps of a gym, pushed a giant soccer ball and played tag.
They learned that some wheelchair athletes are able bodied.
The Let’s Play program is a co-operative effort between B.C. Wheelchair Basketball Society, the Rick Hansen Foundation and the B.C. government.
It is intended to help children with mobility limitations be physically active early in life by helping establish the needed skills and abilities to confidently participate in play, sport and physical education with peers.
The Let’s Play program, northern B.C. has been developing over the last six months and was chosen for the City of Prince George Access Award of Merit this year.
Nancy Harris is the co-ordinator of this program and Avril Harris, a skilled wheelchair athlete and member of the junior and men’s provincial basketball teams, was the instructor of the classes.
Principals have reported that the wheelchair activities were fantastic and some students are asking if the “wheelchair people” can come back again this year.
We thank Let’s Play for coming and certainly hope they will be able to return to Williams Lake in the near future.
Margaret Waring is the occupational and physiotherapist with School District 27 support services.