Legacy games to feature disabled athletes

The Kamloops Legacy Performance Games have been handed some provincial funding to include disability sports.

Several disability sport organizations have partnered with the government to pilot the programming at the 2014 games.

The B.C. Government has allotted $75,000 annually over the next three years for new disability event opportunities and the legacy games are seen as a good fit. The amount funded for the games will be dependent on how many sports are represented.

During the announcement Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake said the games are “a perfect development opportunity for a multi-sport competition for disability sports, filling a gap in B.C.'s sport-scape.”

The legacy games was developed as a way to provide athletes who do not fit age categories or because their sports are not included in other competitions.

The Kamloops Legacy Performance Games will run June 27-30 this summer as a test event featuring power soccer and wheelchair rugby, as well as seven able-bodied sports.

Kamloops Sports Council president Henry Pejril noted, “the vision of the Legacy Performance Games is to support long term athlete development in the province and to showcase our amazing facilities in Kamloops, Canada's Tournament Capital."

• Disability sports at the 2013 test event will include wheelchair rugby and power soccer. Able-bodied sports will include cycling, canoe and kayak, wrestling, and beach volleyball.
• The event is expected to grow to include up to 15 sports and 2,000 athletes.
• The Legacy Games will be held every two years, starting in 2014.

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 819-3723,