The upcoming wheelchair basketball season is in jeopardy for an 8-year-old Saskatoon girl with a neurological disorder and her 30-plus teammates.
Olivia Protz learned Tuesday morning that the Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports Association‘s (SWSA) utility trailer holding 34 specialized wheelchairs is believed to have been stolen.
READ MORE: Thieves in Saskatoon steal 34 children’s basketball wheelchairs
“Well, it doesn’t feel good to me. It feels like a broken heart,” Olivia said.
Olivia has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which is a degenerative condition, requiring her to wear ankle braces to keep from falling and hurting herself.
Olivia’s parents enrolled her in the SWSA’s program to help her develop some athletic skill in a wheelchair before her ability declines.
“Her winter activity has just been taken away from her without us OK’ing that. It’s been stolen from 34 kids. It’s crushing,” Olivia’s mother, Kara Protz, said.
The silver 2006 Royal-brand utility trailer with a licence plate 859 HDN was taken from the SWSA’s Cynthia Street location, likely over the weekend, according to the association.
The 34 Quickie All Court black and orange chairs are worth about $4000 each – funded by years of grants and fundraising.
READ MORE: Winnipeg volleyball team coach loses memories in Saskatoon theft
“The concern right now is the wheelchairs and, hopefully, whoever’s taken the trailer has dumped the chairs somewhere in Saskatoon and we can find a tip on where the chairs are,” SWSA executive director Andrea Muir said.
“Everything was in the trailer, so we’re figuring it’s about $250,000 worth of equipment in the trailer.”
The chairs are used for the NRG Mini Wheelchair Basketball Program for kids with and without physical disabilities between five and 16 years old.
The SWSA loans chairs free of charge and children have the option to use the custom-sized chairs for physical education classes.
Anyone with information should contact Saskatoon police at 306-975-8300.