Active living increases overall well being by providing physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual benefits. Active living allows all of us to carry out activities of daily living with less fatigue and frustration, greater safety and more self-confidence.
We’ve come a long way in enabling blind and visually-impaired people to take advantage of the physical, mental and social benefits of leading an active life. New technologies, programs and attitudes have helped people with disabilities to take their place among their friends, families and the community.
My name is Micheal Alexander and I live in Golden B.C. Mine is a unique story. In 1994 I began designing and building sporting equipment for people with mobility challenges. I am a welder by trade. My first product was the F1 sit-ski, which allows people without the use of their legs to enjoy downhill skiing. The F1 has been called the Ferrari of sit-skis and has been used in several Paralympics, garnering multiple Gold medals for several athletes around the world.
My name is Margarita Gorbounova and I am an athlete with a vision impairment. I was born with cataracts in both eyes, which were later removed, leaving me with about 5 to 10% of normal vision. I was lucky to be born in an athletic family and to have been introduced to physical activity at a very young age.
My name is Marco Giovanni Pasqua and I was born on July 4, 1985, in Vancouver, British Columbia. This date was the beginning of my fight for a “normal” life. I only weighed 2 lbs 10 oz at birth and was 3 months premature. My parents would later find out that I was also born with Cerebral Palsy (Spastic Diplegia).
I don’t think I could imagine my life without wakeboarding and canoeing, cross-country skiing and running. Physical activity has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started swimming at the age of two and playing badminton when I was six. At school I had an amazing elementary gym teacher who offered morning games before school and running club at lunch time.
