Wheelchair rugby comes to Steinbach

A new sport may be establishing itself in Steinbach.

The Southeast Event Centre played host to a pair of wheelchair rugby sessions, a sport combing basketball, rugby and soccer and played in wheelchairs, this summer including July 10.

The sessions were run by the Manitoba Wheelchair Sport Association, which brought the chairs for participants to use during the sessions. Chris Klodt is the president of the association and ran the events in Steinbach.

Klodt said the two sessions were a success, and plans to start a team based in Steinbach.

“Para-sports is very much about helping people get through their disability and get back to independence,” Klodt said.

“We realize not everyone with a disability lives in Winnipeg. I don’t. I just travel. And that’s part of it, becoming comfortable in travelling and all that with your independence.”

As Klodt spoke, the banging of wheelchairs into each other echoed through the SEC gym. Athletes are given full license to crash into each other’s sturdy wheelchairs to stop the other team from carrying a ball to the other end of the court.

“It breaks that idea that you’re broken and you need to be soft and gentle and wrapped in bubble wrap,” Klodt said.

“No, you come out hammer each other hard and work out your aggression.”

Steinbach’s Jacquelyn Morran was one of the people new to the sport who came out to the gym to try it out. She had attended one practice a decade ago in Winnipeg and loved it but couldn’t manage to make the travel work.

“I’d love to see more para-sports in this area,” Moran said.

“It’s really fun to be around other people with disabilities and spend time having fun and also learning from their experience.”

Winnipeg is hosting the wheelchair rugby nationals in 2027. For more information on the upcoming sessions, check out mwsa.ca.