History in the making: Canada’s first-ever women’s wheelchair rugby championship in Montreal

History is in the making with Canada’s first-ever women’s wheelchair rugby championship, and it’s a win that athletes say goes far beyond the game.

At Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal, the sound of clashing chairs is a sign of resilience and for wheelchair rugby player Cory Harrower, the moment has been decades in the making.

“It’s pretty amazing to be able to play in this sport and be able to see how much it’s grown,” said the high pointer.

Harrower got involved in wheelchair sports at eight years old after being diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She took a liking to rugby but says she was quickly faced with the reality of competing in a male-dominated sport.

“I was asked to join the national squad for the men’s program, so I got to play with them for about five or six years. When I started out, there were maybe only four women that were playing the sport,” Harrower said.

Wheelchair rugby was created in Manitoba in 1977.

But according to the sport’s international governing body, the low number of female players made it difficult to have women’s teams at the time.

Fast forward to Canada’s first women’s wheelchair rugby championship, a partnership with Défi sportif AlterGo.

“Twenty women play. They came from different provinces across Canada, so we got from Ontario and New Brunswick. We’ve got [players] from B.C., Montreal for sure, Quebec,” said Maxime Gagnon, CEO of Défi sportif AlterGo.

“They want to build a national women’s team. That’s the build-up of this competition this weekend.”

The competition is on as the first women’s world championships is set to take place in Paris in December. But Paige Reekie says players share a common goal: they hope to encourage more female athletes to join in the fun.

“Everyone has a place here and no matter their ability levels,” said Reekie, inbound and ball carrier.

“So there’s people who come out from all aspects of life. There’s people who come out fresh after their injury and they’re really timid, and you just kind of watch their confidence grow as they learn.”