Post-tornado campaign aims to get Dunrobin kids playing sports again

Todd Nicholson knows what it's like to have his life turned upside down. 

The Paralympic athlete's home in the west Ottawa community of Dunrobin was destroyed by the tornado that swept through the area on Sept. 21. 

The weeks since have been a whirlwind of relocation, insurance claims and demolition — but now, Nicholson, as chair of the organization Own the Podium, is turning to sport once again to help his community recover. 

Nicholson's organization co-hosted a community sports day in Dunrobin Saturday, along with the Ottawa Senators Foundation and the charity Their Opportunity. 

The day was meant to give families a welcome distraction from dealing with the stress of recovery. An associated campaign, Rebuilding Communities Through Sport, aims to give parents the opportunity to get their kids involved in sports again.

"Kids are very resilient, but I can see the stress starting to build on parents," Nicholson said.

"[They] don't have equipment. [They] don't have any of that sort of stuff." 

'Get them back on the field'

Amid all the destruction, some parents may have missed the chance to enrol their kids in sports leagues, Nicholson said. Others may not have sports equipment left to use, after their homes were damaged or destroyed. 

Now, almost 30 organizations are offering free or low-cost registration and equipment for Dunrobin kids affected by the tornadoes.

The list includes hockey, baseball and rugby leagues, as well as canoe clubs and martial arts studios.

It's a way of lowering the barriers families face in getting back to normal, said Randy Gill, president and CEO of Their Opportunity, which helps low-income families enrol their kids in sports.   

"When the storm happened, some of those families were displaced and out of that sense of routine," he said. "We want to be able to get them back on the field, back on the ice."

Sports as support

Rochelle Fowler lives in Dunrobin and was away from home at her daughter's hockey tournament when the storm hit.

Their house was destroyed, and the family ended up in a hotel for almost six weeks, she said. Sports — hockey in particular — was their only constant.

"It's what keeps us really grounded," she said. "I go to the rink [and] there's always a hug or a question about how we're doing. That's a huge support structure."

Aside from getting that sense of community, Nicholson — a former sledge hockey player — said the act of playing can relieve a lot of the stress many in Dunrobin are feeling. 

His time on the ice, he said, brings him valuable peace of mind.

"I'm not thinking about insurance adjustments or figuring out how much content I had in my house, or how am I going to rebuild my house," he said. "Sport has the power to change so much."