By John DeCoste
Kentville native Keven Smith-Worthylake may not get to the Paralympics as an athlete – at least, not this time – but he could still end up in London this summer.
Smith-Worthylake, an Acadia graduate, has been playing adapted Boccia for about five years. Last year, he visited Wolfville to participate in a well-received Boccia workshop for participants in Acadia’s SMILE program.
Also in 2011, he earned a spot on the national team for the first time and helped the team qualify for the 2012 Paralympics. Unfortunately, he says, “they had to cut the team by a couple of athletes, and I narrowly missed the cut.”
Smith-Worthlyake’s disappointment turned to excitement when he learned he could still qualify to travel to London as a “super fan” as part of a contest being sponsored by the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
The contest, he said, is right up his alley.
“I’ve always been a loud and proud fan wherever I go. I’d love the opportunity to show my heart for all our Canadian Paralympic athletes,” he said.
“Having this experience, and being able to observe the atmosphere of the Games, would help me so much in my mental preparation for 2016.”
For anyone interested in helping Smith-Worthlake win the trip to London, he outlined the four easy steps by which you can help.
First, “like” the Canadian Paralympic Committee on Facebook. Click on the “Super Fan Contest” tab button on the right-hand side of the page, below the cover photo.
Next, scroll through the information to ‘”Go to the App”.” Click on “The Heart” with Smith-Worthlake’s name and select “Like”. This will register a vote. There is only one vote per Facebook account.
The contest runs until July 2.
