Photo: Fred Sgambati
Eye on Acadia
Dr. Roxanne Seaman of Acadia’s School of Recreation Management and Kinesiology displays a cherished possession: a photo of S.M.I.L.E. program founder Professor Jack Scholz with a program participant.
While in Texas working on her doctorate, Seaman was at a wheelchair tennis tournament and received a flyer concerning sledge hockey in the area.
here, in Dartmouth, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island.
A bit surprised to find sledge hockey in the Lone Star state, she said she simply had to go to the local rink to check things out. She met the head pro, former NHLer Dwayne Wiley, and ended up “becoming a coach sort of on the spot.”
Solid levels of support
After her return to Wolfville, she found that some S.M.I.L.E. participants who had grown up in the program were looking for something more. “Kids would stop wanting to come when they hit pre-adolescent years,” she says. “Some felt they wanted more sport than recreation,” and that’s when Seaman decided to introduce sledge hockey to the program. With financial support from a Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection grant, Seaman purchased six sleds and six sets of equipment in 2002-03 through the S.M.I.L.E. program and introduced the sport to potential participants. She added another sled in 2006 and things took off from there. Eventually, enough kids were involved that she wanted to secure ice time on a regular basis. In 2007, she asked fellow Acadia grad and Town of Kentville Recreation Director Mark Phillips if the town would donate ice in August and September for two evenings a week to accommodate the sledge hockey program. It did. Seaman requested and received support from Hockey Nova Scotia, which hosted sledge hockey clinics and bought an additional 12 sleds to share with interested programs. Acadia Minor Hockey Association took over the program in 2007 with retired criminal lawyer Bob Lutes of Wolfville as manager. There are now teams
Good things have accrued and a solid network of community outreach and support continues. Seaman says the S.M.I.L.E. program works “very closely with resource teachers in the AVRSB and educational assistants bring kids to the program each Tuesday and Thursday. “Families in the community have supported it at all levels, and there is a sponsorship program through which businesses, people and doctors can donate $300 for each program day.” Martock’s S.M.I.L.E. Ski Challenge started in 2000 and is the program’s annual fundraiser. “That community is a huge supporter,” Seaman said, as is the Craig Foundation and organizations at provincial and municipal levels of government. However, Seaman says she is constantly beating bushes to ensure sustainability and finances “are my sleepless nights.” The program has enlisted the aid of Office of Advancement Development Officer Donnie Ehler to help put the ask out for S.M.I.L.E. funds. “He has been just terrific,” she says, “and I expect a big turnaround as a result as time goes on.” Ultimately, the program works “and it’s all good stuff,” she notes. “It’s an amazing experience for everyone involved at all the different levels and it’s the people involved who make it a success.” It may look like chaos walking in on a Saturday morning, she adds, “but there are so many smiles. It’s an immediate ‘see-the-difference’ kind of thing and there’s a lot of learning going on.” ACADIA BULLETIN Spring 2011
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