For the third year in a row, Trent Summer Sports Camp (TSSC) is holding introductory sessions for its campers and kids from Five Counties Children’s Centre on Paralympic sports including shot put, club throwing and wheelchair racing.

Colleen Ristock, a coordinator with Five Counties Children’s Centre, stated that this program offers “a great opportunity to expose children to Paralympic sports for the first time as well as help to teach safety basics.” This year, eight children are taking part in the event with ages ranging from seven to eighteen years old.

The sessions running from July 21 to July 23 are utilizing Trent Athletics’ new sports field and track which one coordinator called “phenomenal and absolutely great” for this event. Participants from Five Counties also get a chance to have some social time with campers from the Trent Summer Sports Camp.

For the second time in as many years, wheelchair athlete Josh Cassidy has been the ambassador for children from Five Counties in Peterborough. Jill Valentine, manager of the Ready, Willing and Able (RWA) program of Paralympics Ontario, said that bringing Mr. Cassidy is great for the kids because he is not only actively involved in athletics for the physically disabled but he is also an amazingly successful athlete.

Mr. Cassidy is a track and field competitor and has been with the Canadian National Team for three years. On August 30, 2008, Mr. Cassidy will be leaving Canada for Beijing to compete in the 800, 1500 and 5000 meter wheelchair racing events, his first time at this level. The main reason why Mr. Cassidy is involved in the RWA program is to let kids with physical disabilities know that they still have opportunities in the athletics realm.

Several associations from across the province teamed up with TSSC, Five Counties and RWA program to make this initiative happen, including the Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Association and Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association.

The RWA program, launched in 2004, brings awareness about ParaSports to individuals, young or old, with physical disabilities by loaning out equipment. With the average cost of a racing wheelchair at $4500 plus up to $1500 more for specialized wheels, many people would not have the opportunity to test out these sports without the assistance of the RWA program.