Everyone should have the chance to experience organized sports, special needs or not.
That was what was in the mind of Roby Sharpe and company when they started the 'Getting in the Game' program over a year ago.
Sharpe and co. wanted to raise enough money to allow the water boy for the YRHS Raiders, Tyler Senchuk, to travel with the team and be a fully-fledged member of the club for at least one day.
That day, however, ended up being the day of the Championship game. And while the Raiders as a team lost that day, everyone involved with what happened can easily consider themselves to be winners as Senchuk, thanks to 'Getting in the Game', was able to show off his quarterback prowess and finish his high school career with a perfect pass percentage and a sparkling QB rating.
But of course that wouldn't have been able to happen had it not been for the 'Getting in the Game' program, which, thanks to people like Sharpe, is still running within the city. And what's more, it's not just catering to the football teams. "This program is open for anybody in the city, whether you have a special needs water boy, stick boy, bat boy, whatever," mentioned Sharpe. "This money is available for anybody so that these kids can enjoy the sport (they choose) like any other kid in our town can."
The money that Sharpe mentioned has been raised, mainly, through the auctioning off of an autographed, game worn Chad Nehring Las Vegas Wranglers jersey. Nehring, from Springside, is an alumnus of the YRHS football team as well as the SJHL's Yorkton Terriers and has donated his jersey each of the past two years. The first year Deneschuk Homes purchased the Nehring jersey for $3,300.00. This year that total was topped as Farrell Agencies won the bidding war for the good cause, dropping $4,000.00 into the collective lap of the 'Getting in the Game' program. "It warms your heart when you see big businesses like this step up," said Sharpe. "Deneschuk homes last year and Farrell Agencies this year, these businesses are really stepping up to the plate and, like I said, this money is available for our kids and we want people to access it and use it in our community."
But how would one go about accessing this money? According to Sharpe, it's really not too difficult. "They can contact Yorkton Minor Football. Darcy Zaharia is our treasurer so you could call him at 782-1903, you can email Yorkton Minor Football and just apply through Yorkton Minor Football and that money will be available," mentioned Sharpe.
And if people are still having a hard time finding out how to access this money for their special needs child, Sharpe also said that people could contact him at the YRHS and he'll "put them in the right direction".
