Members of the Wolverines Adapted Sports Association participating in Sledge Hockey. (Photo Credit: Grande Prairie Wolverines Adapted Sports Association Facebook page)

By Shane Clausing

wolverines adapted sports association

Wolverines Adapted Sports Association set to reboot operations

Oct 6, 2020 | 1:18 PM

For the first time since March 13, the Grande Prairie Wolverines Adapted Sports Association (formerly known as the Wolverines Wheelchair Sports Association) has been given the green light to start operations back up.

Back in March, the organization was put on a collective pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as rec centres were shut down for the foreseeable future, whcih led to all sporting activities coming to a halt.

As a result, the Wolverines could not operate their programs or even fundraise to keep their organization afloat.

At the October 5 Grande Prairie City Council meeting, the organization was approved for $15,000 in Emergency Community Group Funding through Council’s Strategic Initiatives Fund to help keep them in operation for the next year.

“It’s absolutely huge,” said Joseph Sask, the President of the Wolverines Adapted Sports Association following the funding being approved on Monday afternoon. “We wouldn’t be able to go on (with our) operations without receiving this emergency funding through the City of Grande Prairie. We are very thankful and certainly (give) kudos to City Council for giving us a hand in restarting our programs.”

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given says this was an easy decision for Council.

“We recognized that there may be a number of different community organizations that saw their revenues impacted by inability to provide services or inability to fundraise through the pandemic.”

“In their situation, the $15,000 really helps their organization with some of the overhead that they face and will help keep them afloat through the course of the pandemic. They do play such an important role in people’s lives and ensure there are options and supports for people who may have mobility issues that want to maintain healthy, active lifestyles.”

The $15,000 will also help the Wolverines add a part time coordinator position. More info on the position can be found here.

The Wolverines are set to return to play at the Coca-Cola Centre on Sunday, October 18, where they will host Sledge Hockey, they’ll then host wheelchair basketball on October 22 at the Eastlink Centre.

Sask tells EverythingGP that all of the proper protocols are put in place and they’ll do everything they can to ensure a safe environment for all involved.

Sask says the biggest issue that they are facing is the amount of person-to-person contact.

“With Sledge Hockey, many of our athletes need help getting into the sled. So, they are sitting in wheelchairs and from that standpoint how do we get them from the wheelchair and into the sled because of their disability,” said Sask. “That is really going to be a test in terms of how we can adapt to the new way of operations.”

Both Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair Basketball will be tested for the first month, just to see how everything is handled. If all goes well, Sask says that they’ll look into adding more sports come November and December.

Other sports the Wolverines Association offers include Sit Ski, Hand Cycling, Boccia and Power Soccer.

According to Sask, he expects between 8-10 athletes to start playing Sledge Hockey and 5-6 athletes playing Wheelchair Basketball. This is a slight drop in users, where Sask says between 15-18 people would usually play Sledge Hockey and 12-15 would play Wheelchair Basketball.

“All of the athletes are really excited that we get an opportunity to restart our program,” said Sask. “A lot of our members and athletes understand the situation, but are also so glad that we can get back and start doing some of things that they want them to do and that is participating in sports.”