(Vancouver, BC -- Dec 2.) Riley Martin’s wheelchair basketball career has already taken him to the Canada Winter Games and inspired him to give back by joining the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society’s Board of Directors. Now, he’s taking his game to the next level thanks to a high-performance basketball wheelchair purchased through a grant from the BC Rehab Foundation.
Martin began his wheelchair basketball career in a rented wheelchair, but as his ambitions in the sport increased he found that his old wheelchair couldn’t keep up.
“This new high performance wheelchair is an even better fit for my body and my injury level. I'm looking forward to what I can achieve with it!” he said.
The $25,000 grant, which BC Rehab Foundation awarded to BCWBS last year, was used to purchase nine new sports wheelchair for the organization's wheelchair loan program. The grant also funded wheelchair maintenance and helped BCWBS to purchase basketballs and wheelchair parts.
BCWBS has expanded its regional development and outreach significantly over the past few years and the new fleet of wheelchairs ensures that the organization can recruit more people with disabilities to wheelchair basketball without passing costs along to participants. Since sports wheelchairs cost between $2000 and $5000, this equipment cost can pose a significant barrier to new participants.
“Thanks to the BC Rehab Foundation, we can make sure that access to proper equipment doesn’t stand in the way of athletes like Riley achieving their sports dreams,” said BCWBS Executive Director Sian Blyth. “We’re very grateful for their contribution.”
