Whitehorse athlete touts benefits of 'skateboarding, but in wheelchairs'
Darryl Tait says WCMX instils confidence and teaches wheelchair users practical skills
Whitehorse athlete Darryl Tait is hoping to raise awareness in Canada about the growing sport of WCMX, or wheelchair motocross.
He has just returned from the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, where he participated in an annual event that's part competition, part clinic to work with children interested in learning what Tait describes as skateboarding, but with wheelchairs.
Tait took second place in his competition, which was better than he thought he'd do.
But it's the work in the clinic that the older athletes do with children as young as three years old that brings Tait, and others, to tears. WCMX is a sport and a lot of fun, Tait said, but it also teaches the kids confidence and practical skills that can make their days much more enjoyable.
'If they see a curb cut, they can jump it'
"They learn all these skills in the skate park, but they can take them out into their everyday [life] and if there's any challenges with wheelchair accessibility, they can overcome them with those skills," he said.
"So if they see a curb cut, they can jump it or make it seem like it's more fun, just thinking outside the box, pretty much."
Box is known as a sort of Santa Claus who makes custom-built wheelchairs for children.
Their own chairs are often too big for them and as a result, their parents have to continually push them around, said Tait.
"Then Mike builds a properly fitted chair for them and they jump in it and suddenly their world becomes totally independent for them.
"They can do everything on their own, and now the parents are freaking out because they're chasing their kids, going down ramps and trying to learn wheelies and stuff."
The sport is mainly centred in the United States, Tait said, but starting up in other countries as well.
Tait said he hope to see Canada added to that list soon.
