SCI’s Accessibility Challenge returns in 2023

Saskatoon residents will have the opportunity this weekend to understand some of the challenges associated with accessibility, and raise money for inclusive services through the 2023 Saskatchewan Accessibility Challenge.

The event was created by Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan Inc. (SCI), and will take place Saturday at the Harry H. Janzen Auditorium on McKercher Drive.

To raise money in previous years, the non-profit organization held a wheelchair relay, but due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, many of its fundraising events were put on hold, according to SCI executive director Launel Scott.

This year, the challenge will be indoors, and will include seven different stations for individuals to try, including an obstacle course, and challenges on dexterity, vision, technology and balance, all with an adaptability twist.

Delynne Bortis, a client service co-ordinator with SCI, said “it’s almost like you’re doing a personal competition with yourself.”

Scott said the organization’s mission is to enhance people’s understanding of what accessibility really is, and the barriers that people with physical disabilities face.

“The hope would be that when they carry on in their everyday work life or personal life that they would consider some of those barriers,” Scott added.

The funds will be put towards increasing the non-profit’s capacity and services that support those living with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities.

“We are a provincial organization, and we are always challenged with trying to reach people in the northern remote and rural locations,” Scott said.

SCI works with individuals that have spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities through services such as rehabilitation, education, employment, community inclusion and awareness, as well as providing information to clients, their families, and other organizations.

The event Saturday is to take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It will have a $50 entry fee per team/family, and winners of the challenge will also have the chance to win prizes.

Bortis said the adaptability challenge is also a twist on inclusion, and the purpose is to remind individuals that most things are possible with a little adaptation.

More information about the Adaptability Challenge and SCI can be found on their website.