Greetings,

I am your new President.

My father had Multiple Sclerosis and while he wasn’t an athlete as a person with a disability he and I connected through sport; whether it was watching sports on television, as spectators or through my own performances as an athlete and his support as a fan. My mother, meanwhile, was a home economist, innovator and all around advocate for my dad and our family. Through them I learned about adaptability, accessibility, inclusion and not accepting no as an answer.

As an undergraduate student at McMaster University in Canada I had plans of becoming a high school physical education teacher. In my third year I had the good fortune to take an adapted physical activity course and my eyes were opened to a world I never knew. Graduate work and employment in wheelchair sport followed and I eventually moved west to pursue a PhD with Bob Steadward at the Rick Hansen Centre at the University of Alberta. A year later he took me to my first ISAPA in Olso, Norway.

David Legg & Bob Steadward

Bob Steadward (l) and David Legg (r)

Since then I’ve been involved mostly in the Paralympic movement but have also taught APA in various Universities for close to 25 years.

Which brings me to now – as the newly elected President of IFAPA – a role and responsibility that I accept with great humility and excitement.

Like any association we need people to be actively engaged members. I know there are many options from which you can focus your attention and I hope IFAPA can be one of those. We have enhanced our website, are endeavoring to connect on social media with more timely and important content, are working hard to continue hosting excellent symposiums and are reaching out to other partners to help promote and advocate on behalf of our great and storied profession.

I would hope it goes without saying but I am here to serve and would welcome any and all feedback (although if you do have criticisms I would also appreciate a few solutions!).

I look forward to meeting you,

David Legg, PhD
dlegg@mtroyal.ca
@davidfhlegg