The latest ParaTough Cup, fund-raiser for the Paralympic Foundation of Canada, has been held at Richmond's Olympic Oval ©paralympic.ca

The ParaTough Cup, primary fundraiser for the Paralympic Foundation of Canada, has held its first event since early 2020 and raised more than CAD 70,000 (£45,000/$51,000/€52,000) for people with a disability who want to participate in sport at all levels.

Eight teams from seven Canadian business organisations participated in the Petro-Canada-backed event at Richmond's Olympic Oval, competing in three Paralympic sports - sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball and ice hockey.

After three hours of competition, Petro-Canada won the trophy thanks to their skills both on the field of play and in raising funds for the cause.

They finished ahead of Fasken in second place and RBC - featuring 17-time Paralympic swimming champion Michael Edgson - in third.

Also participating were lululemon with two teams, BC 2030, Toyota, and the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Eight teams from seven Canadian business organisations have raised more than CAN$70,000 for the Paralympic Foundation of Canada in the latest ParaTough Cup held at Richmond's Olympic Oval ©paralympic.ca
Eight teams from seven Canadian business organisations have raised more than CAN$70,000 for the Paralympic Foundation of Canada in the latest ParaTough Cup held at Richmond's Olympic Oval ©paralympic.ca

Emceed by Paralympic Games Para alpine skiing gold medallist Josh Dueck, the event saw a number of Para athletes on hand to help with the sports and meet the teams.

These included three athletes from the wheelchair basketball world in husband-wife duo Richard Peter and Marni Abbott-Peter - who are both three-time Paralympic Games champions - and Tara Llanes, who is on the current women's wheelchair basketball team.

"It's great to be back after three years," said Llanes.

"Being able to be here with a lot of the sponsors is really important and being able to talk to them and show them Para sport, it's important for them to try it out.

"It's an amazing event so they can see what it takes to be a high-performance Para athlete.”

Llanes herself capitalised on an opportunity to try out Para ice hockey for the first time too.

The participants, who are part of teams that commit to raise at least CAD 5,000 (£3,200/$3,600/€3,700) to enter, not only competed but learned more about the Para sport world through a chat hosted by Dueck.

"The ParaTough Cup has come back with a raging success," said Joseph Polossifakis, a member of the winning Petro-Canada team, who works for the company in sponsorships.

"At Petro-Canada one of the ways we like to say we Live by the Leaf is supporting those who wear it.

"We believe that all Canadians with a disability should have access to sport opportunities and should have the resources to pursue sport to the highest level and represent our great country around the world proudly."

The next ParaTough Cup of the 2022-23 season will take place in Montreal tomorrow and will be followed by events early next year in Calgary and Toronto.