Organizers of the Play 4 Play ball hockey tournament did not let the weather interfere with fundraising efforts for Centre Wellington’s first barrier-free park.
Andy Speers and a number of other local residents believe that local playgrounds should expand their horizons by making them barrier-free.
Speers said the five-on-five ball hockey tournament is expected to raise about $6,000 for the project.
“It’s a great chunk of change to put towards this.”
He added council has approved in principal the proposal for the accessible playground equipment at Stait Park.
While final designs have yet to be confirmed, Speers explained plans include talks with local youth and residents to determine the types of things they would like to see in the park.
He noted one design is on the board at Stait Park. “It is not a ‘for sure’ design, it was a design proposed to us.”
The idea for the park came about through a number of influences, said Speers.
“Both my wife and I are best friends with Pat Anderson. He’s always been a hero of ours and we are planning to put something up in the park to honour him.”
However, Speers added there a number of different community members he knew of who have different disabilities which sparked the whole idea.
“The community response has been absolutely incredible.” He estimated that about 120 guys signed up for the ball tournament because of the cause – “and they like ball hockey too.”
However, Speers added there’s been a massive amount of support since the start.
He pointed to a petition initiated to determine if people were open to the idea.
“We had 300 signatures within three hours. It was just crazy, the amount of people supporting it.”
He estimated by the end of the weekend, organizers will have generated over $30,000 in support of the barrier-free park.
“But we still have a big hill to climb.”
He explained overall costs for the park could be in the $190,000 to $200,000 range for a completed park.
Speers was particularly proud of the substantial financial support from the Elora Firefighters Association.
The idea was presented to the group a while ago, and the firefighters thought it was a great cause to support.
“It just shows the support that we are getting from everyone.”
“It’s nice to see the number of guys who signed up for this. It means a lot to myself and it means a lot to the community.”
