Remembering the FABULOUS Priscila Uppal September 5th, 2021 marks the third year since the passing of Priscila Uppal one of our most beloved members of the CAN Fund family. An incredibly gifted writer and passionate supporter of our athletes, she embodied a true Canadian sports lover! We miss Priscila dearly, her infectious energy, magnificent smile and zest for life that radiated every time she was with us. Priscila was a devoted member of the CAN Fund Board and CAN Fund Athlete Selection Committee giving countless hours of her time to support Canadian athletes. One of her greatest contributions was her poetic brilliance. A professor at York University, writer, novelist, playwright and poet, her list of works and accomplishments is extensive. She was our CAN Fund poet-in-residence during the Vancouver and London Games writing a poem each day to celebrate the performances and sports of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes. London “Time Out” magazine dubbed her “Canada’s coolest poet” an accolade she undoubtedly lived up to! Her entire collection as CAN Fund poet-inresidence can be found in her published books “Winter Sport: Poems” and “Summer Sport: Poems.” On September 5th as the Tokyo Games come to a close we fondly remember Priscila and her genuine spirit. Forever grateful for her impact, we share one of our favourite poems Priscila wrote during the 2012 Para Games.
Bumper Cars: A Wheelchair Rugby Poem Strapped into your metal armour, you barely contain yourself eager for the surge of electricity bass belting to rev engines. Technically, one could opt for a safer ridestick to the edges and manoeuver contentedly about like driving school instructors in empty parking lots. But where’s the fun in that? The whole point is acceleration and contact: a crash course in chasing down opponents and companions alike, jamming down on brakes, then scraping by the worst of the traffic jam, initiating rush hour. Your license revoked many times: too many points violations, you’ve got their number as well as your own. And you don’t mind at all if witnesses clock radar speeds and submit their statements to stunned authorities.
