In our final episode, we are joined by Tanelle Bolt, found of RAD Recreation Adapted Society, Soulfly Experiences, and Pro Tips for Paras. Sustaining a spinal cord injury when adventuring with friends in Port Renfrew, Tanelle found limited options in the community for adventuring and recreating, so she decided to start up RAD Recreation Adapted Society. On a mission to establish gear boxes across Canada and map out resources, places to find adventure toys, and programs where everyone can play their way together.
Growing up, Tanelle loved golf and when she was injured, she looked for ways to play and found the paragolfer. In this episode, she chats about golf, what's happening with paragolf, how the game is evolving, and accessible golf courses.
Connect with Tanelle and support opportunities for people to play their way through:
RAD Recreation Adapted Society
Soulfly Experiences
Pro Tips for Paras
In our final episode, we are joined by Tanelle Bolt, found of RAD Recreation Adapted Society, Soulfly Experiences, and Pro Tips for Paras. Sustaining a spinal cord injury when adventuring with friends in Port Renfrew, Tanelle found limited options in the community for adventuring and recreating, so she decided to start up RAD Recreation Adapted Society. On a mission to establish gear boxes across Canada and map out resources, places to find adventure toys, and programs where everyone can play their way together.
Growing up, Tanelle loved golf and when she was injured, she looked for ways to play and found the paragolfer. In this episode, she chats about golf, what's happening with paragolf, how the game is evolving, and accessible golf courses.
Connect with Tanelle and support opportunities for people to play their way through:
RAD Recreation Adapted Society
Soulfly Experiences
Pro Tips for Paras
Hello, it's Anna
Emily Polovick-Moulds:and Emily! On our podcast we chat with people like you about the things we do.
Anna Braunizer:Join us as we dig into our activities, discover what they bring people in life and explore possibilities for participation.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:We're excited to get curious and hear your story about what you do.
Anna Braunizer:Hi everyone! Today, Emily and I are excited to chat with my friend Tanelle. We met when we were discussing seating and the outdoors and recreation. So, Tanelle, um, what do want to talk to us about today?
Tanelle Bolt:Well, I am a complete paraplegic and I live life for the last, nearly seven years in full-time in a wheelchair. And I love to play outdoors and recreate outside, doing all sorts of sport activities. Uh, mental health is my number one coping mechanism is to get outside and play. So that's what I find myself doing often. And I am the founder of RAD Recreation Adapted Society, which is a charity that promotes inclusion in the outdoors and availability and access to adaptive recreation equipment. And if you make me pick one, let's talk about golf.
Anna Braunizer:Alright! So when did you start golf and how did he get started?
Tanelle Bolt:I started golfing when I was very young as an able-bodied child. My dad is a superintendent on a golf course. And so I grew up golfing and mucking around in bare feet with a putter and a chipping wedge my whole life. And then after my paralysis, I had been seeking adaptive recreation equipment and tripped over the para golfer. It's called and it's a electric assist, stand up powered wheelchair golf device that stands you up into the vertical position at any varying angle to hit the ball. And it's fantastic.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:That does sound fantastic. Really painted the picture that I can like see you coming up and being already to golf there.
Tanelle Bolt:Yeah. It's. I was very lucky to have my dad who's the superintendent and pick up the phone when I had the question of'Dad is this allowed on the greens?' If it's allowed on the greens, then I'll go try and find it. It's a, it operates with the same type of drive system as some of the tee box, uh, mowers and greens mowers. So it's safe. And fantastic. Like I said, a little bit nervous as a manual wheelchair user to take the ego hit and get into any electric or power device, but the paragolfer washed that right away, it was very nice experience to be able to stand up and play. And, you know, within 30 seconds hit a ball in the air, off the tee. Like in the machine, up, swing, hit the wall then.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Yeah. So tell me a little bit more about that. So when you are, you know, like you said, you're just all of a sudden you're ready to go. What does that bring up for you? Or is that a kind of a spark that draws you to continue going back to golfing?
Tanelle Bolt:My thing with the para golfer, I think is the ease and the- there's no struggle getting around in the outdoors on a golf course with a paragolfer because all of the greens mowers and fairway mowers and all of the equipment has to move around that course. And that pair of golfers is just another piece of equipment. So I'm able to freely move around for the most part outside in a pretty familiar space. You get fresh air, you get to socialize and you know, there's some physical activity involved. And as a T6 Para- so my chest line down is completely paralyzed- that twisting motion doesn't happen often. So the paragolfer's actually a lot of rehab for twisting and stretching as well on the course, it's just movement and yeah, again, the mental health, as well as the physical health of it helps with bone density for, for w because your weight bearing on your feet a little bit and weight bearing through your knees with a strap and. Yeah. It's just an ergonomical position for the human body to be in again. Yeah, it's freeing for sure. Yeah.
Anna Braunizer:What do you recommend for people who want to get involved with golf for the first time and how do you think they could get involved? And what would you tell a first-time golfer?
Tanelle Bolt:It really depends for the first time golfer, I believe your path.'Do you want to do it for fun? Do you want to do it more readily um, you know, for business? a lot of females especially are learning to golf and it's to benefit their business. That looks a lot different than if you just want to go for the par three course, right? Like I love par three. I get bored. I'm, you know, I could golf eight holes and be really happy or like 13, the nine- 18 rules and getting upwards of like four and five, like par fours and fives. It's just, it gets long. So the game of golf is slowly changing. I just listened to a podcast about a par two indoor course being built down in the States, uh, which will allow people to golf all 18 par two, like short course, which is very, very cool. Uh, and something that would be beneficial for the paragolfer. But, um, first time golfers. I go to the pitch and putt first, I go hang out at the par 3s and just talk to the staff and see who's around. And you'd probably have to pay a little bit of money to have a lesson. And if there's a group of people that, you know, a golf, it's a pretty COVID-safe sport game, um, activity... recreation... tool. So it can be played many ways. And that fortunately in the last five years is changing really quickly. Like I'm the only person I know of in my whole life of golf that's ever hosted a 13 hole golf tournament. And I had to fight for that.
Anna Braunizer:Well, I, my mom, actually, she used to do lots of golf. Like she grew up golfing and my family is quite sad. My brother and I did not do golf. I, in my hand eye coordination is just not up to par.
Tanelle Bolt:Pun intended
Anna Braunizer:um, but yeah, she's like always watching the traditional golf and I wasn't aware like she. Always look towards to the masters. And she always goes to the bear Hill tournament whenever they're in town. Um, but I never heard any of these updates in the last year. So this was like all news to me.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Huh? I was going to say as someone who knows next to nothing about golf, unless you count like putt putt and mini-golf, uh, what is a par three?
Tanelle Bolt:So a par... the par is how many shots it takes to get to the hole. And you par the hole, so that's on average, you could say, so a par three would take the average golfer and you have handicaps on your, on yourself going into golf. Um, I don't even totally understand those. I joke as a'what's your handicap?' Haha T6 complete para. And I'm like, well, by the time I hit the whole 13, I pick up the ball and walk or drive the cart. I'm a recreational golfer... I competed occasionally, but they still haven't even got the bigger, the paragolf game figured out for tournaments with 18 holes and paragolfers on the course. So we're a long ways away from all the adapting everything for us. But, um, a par three is you take a shot off the tee box and you're on the fairway and you go, or if you're. Good enough, you can hit it all the way to the green and get it all on the green, but then you take out whatever club is your next, you know, for that distance. If you're in the Scruff leading up to the green or on the green, pick your club out, and then it should take two more shots from there to get it in the hole. And if you go over- like Oh my gosh- that sometimes we just stop counting.
Anna Braunizer:Yeah, I'm the one that stops counting
Tanelle Bolt:all in one. Yeah. And then there's an Eagle, which is two under par and a birdie, which is one shot under par.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:So there's so many things. I had no idea about things.
Tanelle Bolt:Yeah. I don't even realize that I know these things because they've just been there all the time. That you've probably been the only person in my 34 years that's ever asked me that then I actually really appreciate it cause I've never thought to come up with a definition for a term that was like, oh yeah, that.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Yeah, no, I understand. I will be the newbie to ask all the questions for this.
Tanelle Bolt:Perfect. It answers them for everybody else. So thank you.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Yeah, I do have a more- so you had talked about how much you enjoy being outdoors and that being like a major pro of doing this particular sport for you. Um, What are some of the other things that are the pros? Is it more the social and being outdoors, or do you find other pros and cons of this activity?
Tanelle Bolt:So I don't think there's a con to golf, not adaptive golf, not para golf. It pulls you outside. It puts a seated person or somebody with limited mobility in a position to be more mobile. So as an occupational therapist and Emily, I'm not sure what you're doing.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:I'm also an occupational therapist
Anna Braunizer:She's also an OT
Tanelle Bolt:not sure completely the title, but it is a huge rehab tool to be up for osteoporosis. Like the pros of this thing. You don't have to golf in this. You could go for a walk and be in the semi standing position. It still moves when you're standing. So that's different than one of the- than any of the power wheelchairs or sit to stand once they stop moving. Um, so this one, you can move around as long as your footplate's good and not hitting the ground. So being up in a conversation, I was able to address people, standing and look at a party of, of participants, you know, at my five foot eight level again, which, you know, people. I dunno if you want to say it's an ableist comment or whatever, it's just something along the lines of, I just, it's a good feeling to be able to address a bunch of men that you're asking for money, eye to eye and yeah. Other things it's been used in gyms for weightlifting and archery and shooting it's a tool that can be used it for all sorts of ways. Pros, pro ways, um, stretching was another big one. You can position the paragolfer and use it as a proper stretch. So somebody that doesn't have a standing frame, that doesn't get that back extension, you're able to extend over the back of this. Okay. Um, it's good for pressure relief. So when you're recovering from a pressure ulcer, it's really good. Just like a standing frame again. Um, the other thing I love about this device is along with all of the other mental health things that I've said is there's nothing impeding the front side of you in a paragolfer. It's just straps. So you can come up and give somebody a hug. And actually have your chest and your like front side on them without having them straddle your wheelchair, which is sometimes awkward in public. It's a, it's really nice to, especially like a quadriplegic human, who hasn't been able to hug, their significant other in an upright position since, uh, injury or, you know, aging into whatever mobility challenge that is. Um, I had a gentleman up in the paragolfer who was three months post brain surgery, where they put a stint in and release the pressure of fluid pushing on his brain, which was starting to limit his mobility to a wheelchair and he got really sick. Um, they put the stint in. I got him in the paragolfer and this guy walked out with a cane, because he had recovered to that point, and he got in the paragolfer, after not having golfed for seven years, I believe, and was able to drive the ball like 150 yards. His wife was there. His son was there. Everybody was crying. He was so happy. I was stoked. He was 88, I think. Uh, Yeah, it's just an incredible device. It's own, there's only pros unless you get stuck on a Hill or like times out because some mechanical error and you have to get pushed back to the shop-other than that all pros.
Anna Braunizer:Cool. Tanelle, earlier you were mentioning how, like in golf, they're still developing paragolf tournaments. What do you see for that? Um, or mixed-like mixed able-bodied and paragolfers all together.
Tanelle Bolt:Um, I, well, K so mixed and paragolfers all together are one thing. I'm just stoked on the opportunity for innovation in the beginning golf world, where like in Scotland, they have community putting greens just in the middle of the boule-, in the middle of the Boulevard. So all the kids from the neighborhood grab a golf club and they go. Just outside to the park. They have golf greens and pitching putt thing just everywhere. So I'm excited. I just got approached to do some consulting with a golf course built in Minnesota where they're actually building it accessible from the very beginning with the architects sitting down at a round table with a bunch of different ability golfers from, uh, blind golfers to the pair of golfers, to coaches that deal with disabled golfers, bringing everybody together to talk about it before they even move dirt. So this is going to be the progression of para golf. Um, I see it starting to grow. As soon as they realize that it's not just for somebody in a wheelchair and that it is for that gentleman who golfed his whole life three days a week and couldn't do it for seven years or the woman that has M.S. And lives on the fourth tee box and couldn't golf for the last, you know, uh, same at seven years. It's just. You watch these people be given back something or you watch somebody be able to hold onto it for a little while longer or at like cerebral palsy, you watch somebody be able to swing a golf club without their mom holding onto them. So that like, that's a dangerous sport if your mom's holding onto you while you golf and at 23 is the first time you're able to do it independently, that's stuff I love. Did that answer the question? What was even the question I got pumped on wherever I was going,
Anna Braunizer:the question was like, what you see for like feature tournament's and like how people like yeah, but that, that did answer the question. That's what I want to hear. We want to hear why it's awesome. I want to hear why you love it and all that it brings. Emily, did you want to ask the next question?
Emily Polovick-Moulds:You know, I've skipped around a lot. I'm not sure what the next question is.
Tanelle Bolt:Okay. I'm happy. We are all on the same page which is not numbered.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:It's great. It really is. But I do feel like
Tanelle Bolt:I feel very included right now.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:That's actually what I wanted to talk about. So I feel like I've heard a lot about how both golf as a sport. And then of course, the equipment that you're using has made a huge difference in your being able to feel that sense of belonging in your community and you've also allowed other people to feel that which in and of itself is a good feeling too. Um, and I'm guessing you're getting that with your other sports as well. So I didn't know if there was anything else you wanted to add about how that sense of belonging really comes from doing this activity for you.
Tanelle Bolt:I've had the privilege of traveling to golf, uh, internationally, a lot down into the States. And I participated in that paragolf tournament with 42 other pair of golfers in Majorca, Spain from all around the world. So, um, The, the opportunity of, of sports in general with just adaptive sport in general, the network that, that builds being able to, I do it with surfing and skiing as well. So that network of people being able to travel and recreate with like-minded individuals all together in groups of, you know, from 42 to 130, whatever, it, it's just a really, I'm very privileged to have had that opportunity. But I do feel that adaptive sport builds those communities on a smaller scale in your, in your neighborhood. Um, and the more availability of this adaptive equipment that community will grow and you'll start to trip on one another and find one another and connect with groups like RAD and Kootenay adaptive sports association. And like all of these little hubs that are all around. Like, it's just a really great way to well, hang on to mental health, for sure. Connect with everybody and be able to ask the questions that you maybe haven't got to ask your peers otherwise. Um, especially with all of the isolation and stuff now, that people are feeling with the pandemic. It's nice to have those, that little niche group of active people that are trying to stay active during all this. But yeah, it's the, that solid network of it always seems to be the same type of person-they're trying to change their community and do better things and they have the privilege of coming out and golfing together. It's, it's still not an incredibly competitive thing, which I love. I love playing it and especially being a female there isn't, uh, a large group of competitive ladies out there. And if you are competitive and showing up to the tournament, you're really only competing against your personal best because everybody else's injuries so different. There's no rating system yet for all of this stuff, it's still so brand new that, you know, it's a perfect time to come and try it. Nobody's judging. Nobody has anything to judge.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:I do have a followup.
Tanelle Bolt:Do it
Emily Polovick-Moulds:I have one more question. So, um, I've been talking a lot about the different accessibility of this, and it sounds like in your, and Anna's community, you guys, well, you have founded and it sounds like a wonderful, um, group that is allowing access to these different devices is not the word I was looking for.
Tanelle Bolt:Tools. Toys.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Yes. Different tools that can also be toys, uh, to allow people who have different abilities to do this. But let's say that there's someone in my community here in California, in the Valley right now is where I am. Um, who also would want to be able to do that. Do you know of any other websites or like, are there other organizations internationally that are linking different communities or is this really your local community? And that's where you got to go.
Tanelle Bolt:Anna, Do you want to answer that one?
Anna Braunizer:I'm so happy you asked this question, Emily. Yeah. Um, so Tanelle and I are currently working on- figuring out putting together an app to actually link up communities and help people to find the resources and tools in their community.
Tanelle Bolt:We need a RAD app
Emily Polovick-Moulds:What did you call it?
Tanelle Bolt:The RAD app. We need had an app.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Got it.
Tanelle Bolt:Oh yeah. She's locked up.
Anna Braunizer:I'm totally frozen.
Tanelle Bolt:So I'm going to keep talking about this cause I'm stoked and I didn't know you were in California. Um, I just had a message from one of my buddies. So I surf down there a lot out of Santa Fe in Orange County or like in, in, uh, South County. And, uh, hang out in North San Diego County and Carlsbad and Arcadia, like a lot, a lot. I've driven down there seven times in the last... since my injury and went to walk and did neuro rehab and things down there. So I have my actual personal surfboard is currently in Vista that I need to go and pick up. And I got an email or a message today saying that next time you're in Cali, like I've got a bunch of surf boards for you to take home with you, to put into the gearbox for RAD in Tofino, um, that said, no, I haven't found anybody that's doing this program there. California is much better set up just with other organizations doing things where you have access to some rental stuff. I still think it would be super cool to have a gearbox on the beach where the beach wheelchair and access tracks and everything kind of lives all together in one where people could go. I know that I have a girlfriend in Philly who would like one down at their beaches. I'm working with a consultant in Colorado on things just to push it forward here in Canada and get the prototype up and running. But then as well, um, I would like to get a 501 C3 going so RAD state side. And I have a friend who used to work for Wells Fargo as an account manager. And so he is keen to help the501 C3 happen, um, and then promote it to businesses like that so that I can be on the list of donors for the whatever that is. Yeah. I love the States. I'm like one step away from a Californadian.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:All right. So I feel like we've learned a lot from you, heard a lot about belonging, golf, recreation in general. Is there anything else that you wanted to share with our listeners before we properly thank you for your time?
Tanelle Bolt:Well, just thank you for your time and the effort that you're putting to get the word out there about adaptive recreation and playing your way. Um, and I've got just any of the links and I guess your show notes for where you can find me got RAD Recreation Adapted Society, Soulfly Experiences, which is barrier free travel for all-very Canadiana- launching in Western Canada and Pro Tips for Paras on YouTube is the YouTube channel where it's day in the life.
Anna Braunizer:Well, thank you so much, Tanelle. It was great to see you again and I'll see you soon.
Tanelle Bolt:Thank you guys. Bye ladies.
Anna Braunizer:[and Emily] Bye.
Emily Polovick-Moulds:Good to meet you.