‘The Adapted Race’ hosts inaugural competition in Saskatoon

(Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Dozens of people stopped by outside of Gather Local Market for the first-ever ‘Adapted Race’ hosted by Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports.

“It just came about from watching Amazing Race Canada over multiple seasons, seeing all the events and thinking of ways that you can adapt these events so that people with disabilities could also take part. And so here it is,” Josh Forrest, a client support specialist at Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan, said.

The Adapted Race is a series of challenges which have been adapted for people living with physical disabilities. Teams competed to be one of the first three to complete the physical and cognitive challenges.

“We started thinking our clients are competitive, they want to win and they want to do things like that and we’re like, we need to make this event competitive. It’s not just show up and try it. So we started thinking and we’re brainstorming different things, and we came up with this,” Delynne Bortis, the executive director of SCI Sask said.

Competitors had to complete challenges such as disc golf, wheelchair basketball, boccia ball, braille writing, and various other stops along Market Square.

“We’ve got different challenges when you’re using like your mental, physical, everything. So this was a great, great way to be inclusive of everybody and bring people together,” Bortis said.

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The SCI Sask executive director added that she was happy to see such a good turnout for the event. While the high temperatures were a concern, it didn’t seem to impact the community response.

“We have an incredibly supportive community of people that come to...almost every event we have and they love being with each other. Because it’s kind of a ‘I understand where you’re at because I know where you’re coming from,” Bortis said.

Adding that while anyone was welcome to participate, the event was designed to ensure that people of all ages and abilities could take part.

“Sometimes it’s a challenge that requires two people, one person is the caller, the other person is the doer. So one person can use their mental capabilities, the other person is using their physical capabilities,” Bortis said.

Forrest shared hope that this competition might pave the way for similar events in the future, adding that there is often a lack of recreational opportunities for those with disabilities.

“There’s not always the most amount of things to do if you’re disabled. Planning accessible recreational activities can be harder. So, the more that we have, I think the more it’ll grow. Because if you create one event, then people might get an idea,” Forrest said.

Adding that seeing the community interest this year has left him feeling hopeful about the future.

“This year we tried with small steps and next year hopefully we can just get bigger and bigger,” Forrest said.