Alison Levine, Nothing fragile about this rugby athlete

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Players like Vanier's Alison Levine prove their mettle on the court. "When I go to practice after a bad day, ooohhh, watch out!" says wheelchair rugby player Alison Levine. Only a few women in Canada are tough enough – or crazy enough – to play wheelchair rugby. Alison Levine is one of them.

Murderball

The 22-year-old from Côte St. Luc was one of 4,000 athletes who competed in the 29th annual Défi Sportif event, in April 2012. Originally called "murderball" by the athletes who invented it in Winnipeg in the mid 1970s, and referred to as "quad rugby" in the U.S., its resemblance to stand-up rugby is really in name only. For one thing, a slightly lighter version of a standard volleyball and not a rugby ball is used.

It's a sport for significantly disabled athletes now played in 24 countries. Many of them found themselves unable to keep up with the ball-handling skills wheelchair basketball requires. All athletes are classified as quadriplegics and must have significant impairment to both the upper and lower limbs.

A level playing field

"People often view people in wheelchairs as kind of fragile. Just getting into my car, or going to the grocery store, I see it," says Levine, who has a neuromuscular disorder of unknown origin that has progressively robbed her of her mobility. "And then you play, and you're able to cream someone and knock them out of their chairs. It's like you forget; it's like a level playing field," she adds. "When I go to practice after a bad day, ooohhh, watch out!"

Not a sport for wimps

But the name evokes the full-contact nature of wheelchair vs. wheelchair, the tantalizing possibility of having an opponent face-plant on the parquet after a particularly tough hit – or, face-planting yourself.

Looking for a sport

Alison, who studies Special Care Counselling at Vanier College, began noticing symptoms when she was about 12. Before that, she was an outdoor kid. "When I started having problems, I searched desperately for a sport to play, because that's what gets me through my day - getting out there, hitting people, taking out your frustrations, just being active."

Rugby time

Levine has only been in a wheelchair full-time for about a year. She started with sledge hockey and wheelchair basketball. When she started playing rugby, she could still walk with the help of crutches and braces. "When I lost hand ability, basketball became very, very difficult. I couldn't shoot the ball to the basket, and everyone was doing circles around me," she says. "So once the hands went, it was rugby time."

Team Quebec

Levine had been with the Montreal team for only three weeks when she was asked to join Team Quebec; her wheelchair basketball background gave her a big head start. She competed in the Défi Sportif once before, in that discipline. "Rugby is a lot more strategic, and that's also what I love about it," Levine says. "Everyone's more severely disabled than in wheelchair basketball, so you have to take into account people's abilities more when you decide to make a pass or a play."

Vanier and Special Care Counselling Asked why she chose to attend Vanier College, Alison's answer is instantaneous: "The SCC - Special Care Counselling Program is the best one out there." As for why she chose to study SCC, that's very clear: "I was looking for something that related to my own experiences in the hospital as a child. I was interested in the work of the Child Life Specialists – they keep you alive so you don't go insane!"

A long road

Indeed, Alison's illness puzzled doctors for many years. In fact, a specific diagnosis was not reached until last year – ten years after the first symptoms appeared. In between she had to put up with countless tests and hypotheses – including one that stated her illness was psychological. It was stressful. I was in and out of hospitals. I missed most of grade nine at Bialik High School because I was in the hospital. In Secondary 5 I started going to Open Houses. That's when I found the Special Care Counselling program at Vanier."

A welcoming atmosphere and lifelong friends

"The atmosphere at Vanier is very inviting and welcoming. I've made lifelong friends here, especially in my program. There are times when we all feel we won't pass or won't succeed but with help, support, including emotional support, and encouragement from friends and teachers you get through it! Our teachers have an open-door policy. That means if you have anything, school-related or not, that you need to talk about, they are there for you."

Explorations first stop

"When I first came to Vanier I went into the Explorations program to do my general education courses before tackling the Special Care Counselling program. Because I'm easily tired, I have a reduced number of courses, so doing a year of general education first allowed me to concentrate on SCC afterwards."

Challenges on campus

Attending Vanier in a wheelchair can be challenging because of the architecture of its older buildings, but Alison gets some help. "I have parking close to any building on campus, the SCC Department is on the ground floor of the N Building, I have note takers paid for by Vanier, and I have access to elevators. This summer I'm getting a service dog from MIRA to help me around the campus."

Sharing her insights and experiences

Does her own situation offer insight to her classmates? "Obviously, I aced the physical disabilities course! And I'm open – I give examples from my experience that help others understand things better. My teachers appreciate that. I know the ins and outs and frustrations of living with a disability. I know the physical, psychological and governmental challenges. People don't realize all the little things that add up to making living with a disability that much more difficult. But if people see and understand these things, it can be a stepping stone for change."

If Alison has anything to do with it, this impressive athlete will be one to help bring about some of that change. "Hopefully I can also be a model to show people that life isn't over because you're in a wheelchair!"

The hardest but best three years of my life!

"My three years in the program have been amazing! They have been the hardest but best three years of my life! The program is very demanding, but I transitioned well from high school. Unlike some students who are lost when they go to Cegep, I was happy to leave high school. I didn't have a lot of friends and I wanted to get out of there and make a fresh start."