While the summer break can be a chance to rest, recuperate and have fun outside of sport, the athletes competing in the Saskatchewan Soccer Association’s (SSA) new power chair soccer program are counting down the days until they can get back to the action.

Launched earlier this year, the program is the first of its kind in the province, filling a gap in the Saskatchewan sport landscape as the only power chair sport. It’s also only the fifth active power chair soccer program in the country

“There aren’t very many things out there for people in power chairs,” said Ed Bettin, a member of the Saskatoon Rolling Thunder team. “That’s why this is so awesome. It’s so inclusive for everybody and everyone in a power chair.”

That kind of sentiment is why Jen Wood, SSA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Coordinator, believes the program has been so popular right from the start. While the program currently only operates out of Saskatoon and Regina because of their population and the connection to rehabilitative centres, the uptake has been terrific.

“What we’ve heard from so many athletes in the program is that this is their first time being a part of a team,” said Wood. “There are athletes from outside of those cities that travel two hours to come and play.”

The swift growth in the program’s inaugural season allowed SSA to run the first-ever power chair soccer Sask Cup in April in Saskatoon. The competition included two teams, the Saskatoon Rolling Thunder and the Regina Rangers, who edged a 4-3 victory over the hosts.

Wood notes that if there had been one more athlete in Saskatoon — they currently have 23 enrolled — the city would’ve been able to make two teams. For Bettin, however, even having the opportunity to play against just one other team after weeks of practicing against teammates was a thrill.

“It was absolutely amazing! Throughout the whole learning process, we just practiced to see how things went. To actually have a game was just amazing and everyone was so excited to play against someone different,” said Bettin. “As the program grows, I think I look forward to having enough people out there so that we can scrimmage a bit more often.”

Those aspirations for the program’s future and the goals of the sport in the province overall are shared by Wood. In her five-year plan, Wood hopes to one day have five or six teams at the Sask Cup on a yearly basis, as well as teams from Saskatchewan travelling to Alberta for competitions and athletes from the province invited to national team training camps. First up though, is her goal of bringing the sport to at least one new community every year.

“One of our mandates at SSA is that soccer is ‘Everyone’s Game’. It’s a beautiful sport that everyone should have access to play and one of the ways is using a power chair. I just think it’s so important for anyone, any athlete, to put on a jersey and compete.”