PRINCE GEORGE – The Northern Adapted Sports Association (NASA) was one of 11 local sports organizations to be a benefactor of the Local Sports Relief Fund.
The Fund has helped them transition to a more outdoor ‘in the community feel’ when they were unable to access their normal facilities, at the Northern Sport Centre.
For the Association, they used the money to acquire storage for their equipment, such as their many adapted wheelchairs, that they were able to access throughout the pandemic.
“We had a problem when the pandemic first hit, that we could still use a lot of our equipment, but it was located in establishments we could no longer get to, so trying to find ways of storing that and making sure that we can go out into the community, was a huge part of ours,” said Rob Stiles, Director of Programming.
Now that they have survived what looks to be the worst of it, as our province looks to re-open, NASA’s goal is to make an impact on the future of adapted sports. With the BC Summer Games coming to Prince George next year, it marks the perfect opportunity for them to do so.
“We have wheelchair basketball in the Winter Games, but nothing in the Summer Games, so our hope is that maybe even if it’s just out there to see, there’s certainly an awareness element.”
Ultimately, the Club knows the legacy that Prince George could have if such events were to make their way in to competitive events, as well as the impact it would bring for these athletes.
“That’s one of the things, is that maybe Prince George could have that legacy and make that point of getting some adapted track or waterskiing and that could be something that Prince George could shout about going forward, and that would be the first time having this in and that would be cool.”
