Participants in the Labrador Cup soccer tournament aren't allowed to use their hands — and spectators will have trouble watching if they don't have full use of their legs.
The tournament starts next week at the Broomfield Arena in Happy Valley-Goose Bay — five days of competition among 26 teams in men's, women's and masters' divisions. But the wheelchair ramp is not up to code, and that's a problem for wheelchair user Janet Warr.
Ramp too steep
"I don't want to be home, sat down doing nothing because I can't go anywhere. I mean, if there's a ramp or something there that I can get in, I'm gone."
The irony is that the arena's ramp is out of commission after council decided to put in more seating for people with disabilities. Town engineer Randy Dillon said when council looked at doing renovations, they discovered the ramp is not up to current building codes.
It's a possibility people could fall, they could get injured.- Randy Dillon
For one thing, it's too steep; the current standard for ramps is "one in 12," said Dillon, explaining that means a ramp needs to be 12 units of measurement long for every unit of elevation.
So for a ramp to rise two metres, it would have to be 24 metres long. The arena's current ramp is one in five. And there isn't enough room where the ramp is now to make it long enough for the elevation necessary.
"It's a possibility people could fall, they could get injured. There's no anti-slip coating on top of the ramp. There's no transition demarcation between the change of elevation," said Dillon.
"So overall, it doesn't meet code requirements, it doesn't meet the regulations, and we're obligated to follow the regulations."
Now that the town knows the ramp isn't up to code, liability issues preclude the town from letting people use it — as Warr has in the past.
"I use that all the time. I get winded, but I can make it to those seats in the front at the top of the ramp," she said.
When it's not wheelchair-accessible, it's very difficult, and I miss out on the grandchildren's games and my daughter's games.- Janet Warr
"The section where I sit, at top of the ramp, I've been sitting there for the last eight or 10 years and I'm used to that area. I can't come up over steps … I can get up over the ramp because it do have railing and I can hang onto the rail."
It's frustrating for her, as it is whenever a venue isn't wheelchair accessible.
"When it's not wheelchair-accessible, it's very difficult, and I miss out on the grandchildren's games and my daughter's games. … That's my social life, for sure."
Happy Valley-Goose Bay Mayor Wally Andersen says there's money to do renovations, and a consultant will advise council and what needs to be done to bring the building up to code. But it won't be done in time for the tournament.
"There's too many rules and regulations that's gotta be done, and our council, as much as we want to have it done before the Lab Cup, there's too much work that needs to be done," he said.
In the meantime, said Andersen, the arena has a wheelchair lift to an area that can accommodate 10 people.
"They'll probably have the best seats in the arena," he said.
But that's not ideal for Warr.
"I don't know if I want to go up in a room by myself either. I mean if there's more people there, it's fine," she said. "But I like the area where I'm to, and if there's a wheelchair-accessible ramp, that's fine. The Lab Cup is also sociable. It's your social life, and speaking with people I haven't seen all summer. So no, I wouldn't want to be up in a room by myself."
Still plans to go — ramp or not
But she'll figure something out; she's not going to miss the Lab Cup.
"I've got a daughter coming home from Florida that's going to be playing too, so I will be up there. I usually go for the day. I go up in the morning, usually at the first game, and I'm usually the last one leaves in the night," she said.
"Like I said, that's my social life, and it has been. Lab Cup has been my social life for years. Even when I worked I went there as soon as I got off work. So yeah, it's important to me. Wouldn't miss it, no. It's going to take more than a ramp gone to miss it."