Dozens of “steel wheels” hit the court in Edmonton on Saturday for the Capital City Showdown, a wheelchair rugby tournament.
The tournament, which runs until Sunday, features teams from Edmonton and Calgary as well as players from Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Bruce Crosby, provincial wheelchair rugby coach for Wheelchair Sports Alberta, said the sport is a way for those with disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and amputations, to get active and involved.
“After people have their accidents or get into accidents, they find it very hard to get back into the community. This is a great opportunity for them to come out, play sports and be around people with similar disabilities,” he said.
One member of the Edmonton Steel Wheels knows that situation all too well.
READ MORE: Paralyzed Edmonton temporary foreign worker seeks permanent residency
Vicky Venancio, 31, was left paralyzed from the chest down after being hit by a vehicle while riding her bike to work.
The temporary foreign worker was left unable to work and faced deportation. In 2015, she was granted a two-year work permit, and in early August, she was granted permanent residency.
READ MORE: Foreign worker paralyzed in Edmonton granted permanent residency
“What’s going to happen?” she said, describing her state of mind as she waited over the years to learn her fate.
“Immigration was trying to deport me. This situation I’m in – your health and mentally and physically, I feel like I’m not capable to do something.”
Venancio said getting her permanent residency was a relief.
“I’m so happy. Canada has become a second home for me.”
Part of that home is her second family, the Edmonton Steel Wheels, which she joined a year-and-a-half ago. Up until joining the team, Venancio had never played sports.
“I was so afraid to try everything because I don’t have much movement. I use a power chair most of the time and I can barely move my arms and I can’t move my legs so I felt like, ‘How am I going to do that?’”
Crosby said Venancio was timid and shy initially upon joining the team.
“She didn’t say much. It didn’t take long for her to change. Now she’s talkative, opinionated,” he said.
“She’s happy. When she first came out, she wasn’t really happy.”
“She was trying to find something to fill her time and she started getting involved in the sport,” Crosby said. “It gave her a chance to relieve some of that stress and get her around people that were supportive and truly cared for her.”
Crosby said the team rallied behind Venancio as she dealt with complications from her immigration status.
“We did everything we possibly could to help – if that meant write a letter or talk to somebody- we were all behind her, supporting her, trying to do whatever we could.”
Venancio said her time on the team has changed her life.
“There’s so much life after your injury,” she said. “I felt like I was just stuck in the power chair but now I don’t want to be in a power chair at all. All I want is to get better, work on my upper body and I realize there’s so much fun in everything.
“It’s really nice to be part of the team. Here, you realize there is so much fun in everything – it makes me encouraged to do better for myself.”
The 31-year-old said she has become more independent as a result, adding with pride that she is now living on her own.
“It helps for our health and mentally, physically, it’s really amazing what it can do for you.”
Crosby seconds her sentiment.
“An accident like this is not the end of it. There’s always something that can be done. Life doesn’t end after a traffic accident,” he said.
Venancio plans to go back to the Philippines for the first time since her accident at Christmas. She plans to go back to school and study social work because, as she said, she “wants to help others.”