Payden Vair in action with the Canadian Paralympic sitting volleyball time. (Photo: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee)

By Justin Goulet

Former Kodiak looking to inspire others at 2020 Paralympic Games

Aug 20, 2021 | 8:07 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A former Lethbridge College Kodiak is headed to Tokyo.

Three years after a life-altering lawnmower accident, Kodiaks soccer team alumnus Payden (Olsen) Vair will suit up for Canada’s national sitting volleyball team at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

She said that after a lengthy wait due to the pandemic, she “can’t believe it’s real.”

“We were supposed to leave a year ago and then it just kept getting pushed back. It’s actually here now, and all the excitement is just kind of bundling up together. It’s time to compete and our team is so ready.”

The Canadian squad secured their spot in the Paralympic Games in February 2020 after winning a last-chance qualifier in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Shortly after, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in the team’s plans. Fortunately for athletes, the Games are officially set to start on August 24.

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Vair said it’s finally sinking in that she will soon be representing Canada on such a large stage, especially after witnessing the success of the national teams at the recent 2020 Summer Olympics.

“I watched some of the men’s standing volleyball and I was like ‘crap, like that’s going to be me too!’ I’m going to be in their shoes playing for hopefully a medal game. I can’t wait.”

ADAPTABLE

In her rookie season with the Kodiaks women’s soccer team in 2017, Vair started every game and earned the club’s Newcomer of the Year award.

In July 2018, her life changed due to a lawnmower accident on her parent’s farm. The incident resulted in the amputation of her right leg below the knee, along with the major reconstruction of her left heel. Returning to the soccer pitch remained top of mind for the Cardston-born athlete, however, a new path emerged as she started to recover.

Vair with members of the Kodiaks women’s soccer team in 2018. (Photo provided by Lethbridge College, Kodiaks Athletics)

Manager of Kodiaks Athletics Todd Caughlin connected Vair with the Canadian sitting volleyball program. Soon after, members of the team were visiting Vair in the hospital, inviting her to give the sport a shot.

One year later, at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Peru, Vair made her debut with the national team. At the event, she helped the club earn a bronze medal.

She said that, “even looking back, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

“How did I go from playing soccer to totally switching from feet to hands for volleyball? It really was an awful situation. It was traumatic and it changed my whole life. With that said, it’s amazing how such a negative experience has made such a positive difference in my life. I would have never had the opportunities I’m having today.”

She commented that learning the new sport was no easy task.

“I played high school volleyball, but I definitely wasn’t the best at it. For me, sports always came easy, and then I joined [sitting] volleyball and it wasn’t something I was good at. I mean it’s not fast on your feet – it’s fast on your hands and on your butt.”

Vair credits the support of her teammates and coaches as a motivating factor to keep pushing forward.

“I’m still adapting and I’m still learning. The girls have been great with helping me learn new skills and changing a lot of my bad habits. As much as I would love to tell you it was just a breeze, I’m still struggling with it, but I’m improving every day.”

LOVE FOR THE KODIAKS

Vair remarked that she “didn’t realize how close the Kodiaks family was really until I was in the hospital.”

She recalled a hospital visit from a former Kodiak that she didn’t even know.

“It’s amazing because it was someone who didn’t know me, and I didn’t go to the college with, but he was a part of the Kodiaks family and he wanted to be there to support me.”

Todd Caughlin said the Kodiaks strive to create an environment where every member feels a sense of family, noting that “we are always there to support one another.”

“Once you’re a Kodiak, you’re always a Kodiak, and Payden is an important part of that culture. I know we’ll all be rallying around her again and cheering her on as she competes in Tokyo.”

The Kodiaks women’s soccer team’s head coach Sean Carey and his staff were another group that visited Vair many times during her recovery.

Of Carey, Vair said he and the rest of his coaching staff “were amazing, always asking me if I needed anything.”

“Honestly, it was the best. I wish I could attend the college forever. They were truly amazing in supporting me and I can’t say thank you enough. I love being a Kodiak and I’m so thankful that I went to school there. The Kodiaks will always be my family.”

TRAINING IN A PANDEMIC

With gyms and training facilities shuttered amid the pandemic, Vair’s husband Carson built a temporary court out of plywood and puck board to help his wife continue working on her movement and volleyball-specific drills.

Additionally, as restrictions began to lift, a family in the Cardston community offered Vair gym space in their home.

She said that, “I had a lot of people that reached out to me and just wanted to support me, and it was great that way, having access to gyms.”

PARALYMPIC GAMES

Canada goes into the Paralympics ranked fifth in the world. After drawing into Pool A, the team will get set for tough challenges in the preliminary round, facing the likes of host Japan, and Brazil – ranked third in the world. Vair said the team is considered the underdog going into the Games, but “we’re ready to compete and we’re ready to play for a medal.”

“It’s going to be tough but we’re a grinding team and we’re going to get there.”

Vair (bottom row, #5) with the Canadian Paralympic sitting volleyball team. (Photo courtesy Lethbridge College, Kodiaks Athletics)

Earning a medal is the main goal, but Vair is also hoping to inspire others and raise awareness about her sport. She commented, “I’m so excited that I got to reach the next level and represent such an amazing country.”

“I love the way that everything has turned out and I wouldn’t change a thing. I mean, I would love to play soccer again but I’m also loving where I am with volleyball. I hope that the more I talk about it, the more people can learn about the Paralympics and sitting volleyball. It’s such a cool sport and we’re ready to compete for Canada.”

Preliminary round action starts for Team Canada on August 27 against Brazil. Their second game will be on August 29 against Italy, with the third preliminary matchup on September 1 against Japan.

A full schedule for sitting volleyball at the Paralympics is available here. You can also learn more about sitting volleyball here.

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