When Billy Bridges first made the national Para-hockey team back in 1998, players had to buy their own Canada jerseys off the rack at a sporting goods store.
They paid to have their names ironed on the back at the 鈥渕om and pop shop,鈥� said Sami Jo Small, a three-time Olympic medallist for Canada鈥檚 women鈥檚 hockey team, and Bridges鈥� wife.
鈥淲e still have some of those jerseys 鈥� the names are peeling off,鈥� she added with a laugh.
Bridges remembers paying out of pocket for national team trips, often stuffing six players into a hotel room. His dad carved his sticks out of tree trunks. He now has a Para stick sponsorship deal.
鈥淣owadays, everything is taken care of,鈥� Bridges said. 鈥淟iterally every single thing.鈥�
Bridges and cross-country skiing legend Brian McKeever competed in their sixth Paralympics in Beijing, while Para-hockey player Greg Westlake played in his fifth.
The three are not only some of the world鈥檚 greatest Paralympians ever, they鈥檝e also pushed the envelope of Para-sport in Canada, and helped reshape how Canadians and the world view athletes with disabilities.
鈥淲hen I started, it was a little bit more amateur, people had day jobs,鈥� McKeever said. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a lot of funding and very few of us were, let鈥檚 say, full-time professionals.鈥�
The 42-year-old from Canmore, Alta., captured three gold medals in Beijing to cap a spectacular career. With 16 victories, he tied Germany鈥檚 Gerd Schoenfelder for the most titles by a male winter Paralympian.
McKeever is retiring after capturing 20 medals over six Games, many with brother Robin as his guide. Robin is the head coach of Canada鈥檚 Para Nordic team, and the two shared a long embrace after Brian鈥檚 final race Sunday, a sixth-place finish in the open relay.
Brian McKeever said he and his brother are 鈥渟uper proud鈥� about how they pushed Para Nordic skiing.
鈥淭he level hasn鈥檛 gone that much up necessarily over the years, but it鈥檚 gotten way deeper, because now you cannot win without being a full-time professional. We instilled a lot of those values in our teammates as well, that you have to train like the Olympic stream does,鈥� McKeever said.
鈥淛ust because we might have some physical challenges doesn鈥檛 mean that we can鈥檛 train the same hours and have the same dedication.鈥�
McKeever said he wasn鈥檛 aware when he embarked on his career that 鈥淧ara鈥� in Paralympics actually stands for 鈥減arallel Games,鈥� and not paraplegic, a common misconception.
鈥淪o we also have a bit of a marketing problem,鈥� he said.
McKeever, who has no central vision and only a bit of peripheral vision due to Stargardt鈥檚 disease, said a rewarding moment was Taiki Kawayoke becoming Japan鈥檚 youngest Winter Paralympic champion at age 21 early in the Games. McKeever had done some technique coaching with the Japanese team when Kawayoke was 12.
鈥淣ow he鈥檚 in a University ski program, training with their Olympic stream athletes, and the team leader from Japan, who鈥檚 been a friend of ours for many years, said, 鈥榃e learned from you guys, that you must train with the best.鈥欌��
If McKeever has one regret, it鈥檚 not racing at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He qualified in the 50-kilometre race but was an alternate on race day, a decision he said was out of his hands. He鈥檚 proud of his 21st-place 鈥� Canada鈥檚 top result 鈥� in the men鈥檚 15-kilometre freestyle at the 2007 world championships, for able-bodied athletes.
Westlake, a 35-year-old from Oakville, Ont., is retiring after his fifth Paralympic appearance, and with gold, two silver and a bronze medal.
He鈥檚 been a steady voice not just for high performance Paralympic sport, but for sport for all Canadians living with disabilities.
鈥淚 visit a lot of hospitals in Ontario, mostly of the GTA Toronto region,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole other side to it, which is just that there鈥檚 a lot of people out there living with disabilities that need to feel the benefits of making friends through sport, and playing the game they love and doing it a different way 鈥� I鈥檓 very passionate about that.鈥�
Westlake, who was born with malformed feet and had both legs amputated below the knee before he was 18 months old, said he made sure to soak up every moment of his final Paralympic appearance.
鈥淚 enjoyed watching the Games through the younger guys鈥� eyes 鈥� it鈥檚 been really special and really fun for me to be here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 left it all out there, there鈥檚 not a shift I took off. I got to enjoy every moment, and I can鈥檛 say that about some previous Games.鈥�
Bridges, meanwhile, is undecided on his playing future. The 37-year-old would love to continue depending on how his body holds up.
鈥淚 want to play as long as I can contribute,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never want a free pass. I never want to just be handed a spot, I want to earn it, and I want to be able to contribute to the success of this team.鈥�
While Canadian athletes have helped stretch the envelope of Para sport immensely in the past two decades, there鈥檚 still plenty of work to be done.
Canada鈥檚 Olympic athletes who won medals in either the Tokyo or Beijing Games were financially rewarded 鈥� $20,000 for a gold, $15,000 for a silver and $10,000 for a bronze. Paralympic medallists received no medal bonuses.
鈥淚t鈥檚 long overdue,鈥� said Josh Dueck, Canada鈥檚 chef de mission in Beijing and a three-time Paralympic medallist in sit-skiing. 鈥淚 feel like that point of reckoning will happen in the next couple years. I鈥檒l believe it when I see it, when it鈥檚 in writing, but I really do feel that some of the conversations that are being had behind the scenes is that everybody鈥檚 aware that it is past due.鈥�
Bridges, who has spina bifida, said the addition of women鈥檚 Para hockey is also long overdue. It鈥檚 a big reason for the huge gender gap in Winter Paralympic Games that saw women comprise just 24 per cent of the 564 international athletes competing.
Bridges, a native of Kensington, P.E.I. 鈥� he and Small have a six-year-old daughter named Kensi for his hometown 鈥� said when he first played the game in 1995, half of his teammates were girls.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time, holy cow,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know that hundreds, or thousands of women are playing across the world. I know that if they make a women鈥檚 tournament at the Paralympic Games, teams will show up. I know that countries like China, they鈥檙e not going to turn down an opportunity to win the medal. And not make a team. There鈥檚 so many chicken-and-the-egg arguments and I鈥檓 sick of it.
鈥淚 was raised by two moms, women鈥檚 sport has always been my favourite. And there鈥檚 no time like the present to get a women鈥檚 division in world championships, Paralympics.鈥�
Small holds a girls鈥� hockey camp in her hometown in Winnipeg every year. They bring along sleds, and Bridges coaches a Para hockey session with the girls.
鈥淭he difference that makes in those young girls鈥� lives, they then expose the kids at their school that might have a disability, to Para sport,鈥� Small said. 鈥淗e just has become this iconic figure to so many kids who see him as an incredible hockey player, not as somebody confined to a wheelchair.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of so many things about him,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just that daily mindset shift I see even when we go to the grocery store, or when I see him get on the ice with some kids who have never seen (Para hockey) before. That to me is just so special.鈥�
鈥擫ori Ewing, The Canadian Press
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