‘Man in Motion’ Tour Coming to U of G
December 01, 2011 - News Release
The University of Guelph will welcome the Rick Hansen “Man in Motion” anniversary tour to campus Monday, Dec. 5. The stop is part of a cross-country relay celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hansen’s historic wheelchair journey around the world.
The anniversary relay began in Newfoundland in August and is scheduled to end in Vancouver in May. It will visit 600 communities during a nine-month, 12,000-kilometre journey.
The relay involves some 7,000 Canadians who have made a difference in their communities and in the lives of others. They will walk, wheel or run in the relay as it passes through their community.
Along the way, a special Rick Hansen medal designed and made by the Royal Canadian Mint will be distributed in each community. Relay participants will each receive a commemorative medal; there will be a dozen “medallists” at the U of G event.
“This event is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate Guelph and the accomplishments of those within our community who make a difference in the lives of others,” said Cyndy McLean, director of U of G’s Health and Performance Centre and an ambassador for the Rick Hansen Foundation.
“It is exciting to recognize them and to share their stories.” McLean, a former marathon runner who became paraplegic following a 2003 accident, was instrumental in bringing Hansen’s Wheels in Motion fundraising events to Guelph.
Monday’s event begins at noon in the University Centre courtyard and will include remarks from Brenda Whiteside, associate vice-president (student affairs), as well as a wheel/walk around campus.
The event is open to all members of the University community.
Hansen will join individuals at various stops throughout Canada but not in Guelph.
He began his Man in Motion world tour in March 1985 to raise money and awareness for people with spinal cord injuries. During that 26-month journey, he logged more than 40,000 kilometres through 34 countries on four continents. He started and ended his tour in Vancouver. He later established Wheels in Motion, a national annual fundraising event.
U of G has hosted Wheels in Motion events since 2004.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca, or Shiona Mackenzie, Ext. 56982, or shiona@uoguelph.ca.
