The cross-country Sledge Skate for Hope, aimed at raising $100,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation, made a stop at Invermere’s Whiteway on Monday.
Tyler McGregor embarked on the Sledge Skate for Hope with a personal goal to skate 42 kilometres on his sled in each of Canada’s 10 provinces.
McGregor launched his tour on Jan. 3, and Invermere was his third stop. He said people have been very supportive of his efforts right away.
“It’s kind of taken on a life of its own. That sense of unity is something that Terry Fox really emulated and established through his Marathon of Hope, and I’m kind of getting to experience that in my own way at each stop,” said McGregor.
McGregor said the community gave him a warm welcome.
“The community support has been incredible here and I felt it right from the start,” said McGregor. “The small-town hospitality is something else – it reminds me of home. I’m thankful for the support that’s here.”
McGregor set out on his first Sledge Skate of Hope in February of 2021, aiming to raise $25,000 and raised $31,329 while skating 25 km on his sled.
McGregor said he felt inspired by Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope after he was diagnosed with cancer himself and had his left leg amputated.
McGregor took to the tour with a long resume in sledge hockey after earning a spot on the Canadian men’s national para ice hockey team in 2012.
Over his hockey career, McGregor has earned two world champions gold medals (2013 and 2017) and three silvers (2015, 2019 and 2021), and another two silver medals (2018 and 2022) and a bronze (2014) at the Paralympic Games.
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