GAGNE Priscilla

Classification
B1 (IBSA, 27 Apr 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016)

Impairment Details
She has retinitis pigmentosa, which affects her central vision. (judocanada.org, 14 Feb 2019)

General
EARLY DAYS
Her school teachers would not allow her to take part in sport for safety reasons, which she says was frustrating. "It was horrible because you know what you're able to do. It's your body, if you want to take the risk, you take a measured risk, it's not life or death. At home I could do what I wanted. My mum would wrap me in bubble wrap if she could but my dad was more like, 'Yeah, she just needs a helmet and maybe some knee pads and she'll be all right'. At school and at any organised [club] they wouldn't even let me play hockey. They said I was an insurance risk. It's like being handcuffed or caged." She was able to begin regularly taking part in sport when she enrolled at W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, ON, Canada. "I was finally free to do everything I ever wanted and it surprised me the sports they had for the blind. You name it, we did it. So it was really freeing in that sense and really helped me build that confidence." (AMI: Accessible Media Inc. YouTube channel, 29 Sep 2020)

FUTURE PLANS
When she retires from competitive judo she hopes to be involved in the recruitment and coaching of new Para athletes. "For the last few months [speaking in 2019], there has been an in-school judo programme for students with visual impairment in Montreal. I enjoy working with them, and I'd like to do more. It's my way of giving back to my sport." (judocanada.org, 14 Feb 2019)