Bowden helping to grow inclusive sport

As well as being part of the Canadian ice sledge hockey team who will be defending their World Championships A-Pool gold from 26 April, Brad Bowden is also a dedicated ambassador. 24 Mar 2015

Brad Bowden is a Canadian ice sledge hockey and wheelchair basketball player

ⒸASAP

By Kim McGreal | For the IPC

“I've always been passionate about sledge, but to see new kids come out and fall in love with it, play with their friends, siblings or parents and grow a sense of independence is the most rewarding feeling in the world.”

As if being a member of the Canadian sledge hockey team that will defend their world title in Buffalo, New York, USA, from 26 April-3 May was not enough for Brad Bowden, he is now throwing himself into a brand new project.

All Sports, All People (ASAP) is a non-profit organisation that creates sports programmes for children with physical and developmental impairments. Based in Simcoe County, Ontario, the organisation develops training in a number of sports, including football, basketball, cycling and, of course, ice sledge hockey. But while Bowden may be the public face of ASAP, he is quick to attribute the credit to others.

“I wish I could take credit for starting up ASAP, but I am simply an employee who is in charge of developing and running the programmes. Credit has to go to Wade Beebe [Vice president of the Elmvale Bears Sledge Hockey Team].”

Bowden explains that after the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, he was considering leaving the area, looking for work opportunities. But because of his links with the Elmvale Bears, he was asked to get involved. It was literally an offer he could not refuse.

Beebe, who is police officer in Orillia, Simcoe County, has a child with autism, which helped inspire his vision for ASAP. With the involvement of Bowden and the Elmvale Bears, as well as a grant from the Trillium Foundation, Beebe chose to start their ongoing plans with an ice sledge hockey programme, which has been a huge success. The majority of the children involved had never been given the opportunity to take part in a sport like sledge hockey before. But the children are not the only ones getting to try something for the first time.

“I love various types of sports, and we are going to start programmes other than sledge, so it will be quite an interesting experience for me as well. I have never really been into cycling, but we are currently purchasing some hand cycles for one of our summer programmes, so it will be very eye-opening and fun. “

As well as representing his country on the ice, Bowden was also a member of the Canadian wheelchair basketball team, winning a gold medal at Athens 2004. Despite not having played much in recent years, he still intends to dig out his old ball chair and will be out on the court with the rest of the participants.

Like most non-profit groups, ASAP is supported by a team of volunteers, without whom their work would not be possible. They have ongoing support from the Elmvale Bears, but now need to spread the word in order to attract more interest, from participants as well as from sponsors.

“We are always open to suggestions for new sports to try, it's just a matter of finding the right connections and finding the additional funding for more sporting equipment,” Bowden said. “We are still relatively new, so we are still in the process of building our volunteer pool and it takes quite a few people to help get these programmes off the ground.”

One thing that Bowden would like to see happening is for more projects to begin in other counties, and he is actively encouraging teammates and other athletes he knows to follow in his footsteps.

“I've always been passionate about sledge, but to see new kids come out and fall in love with it, play with their friends, siblings or parents and grow a sense of independence is the most rewarding feeling in the world.”

You can follow ASAP on Facebook.

The 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool will gather teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Norway and Japan in Group A and Paralympic champions the USA, Italy, Germany and Russia in Group B.

A full schedule is available at Buffalo2015.com.