While its programs have been supporting local residents for three decades, the Brock-Niagara Centre of Excellence in Inclusive and Adaptive Physical Activity (CAPA) now has a new home.

To welcome community to CAPA’s new space, where the programs people have come to love will continue, a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Thursday, March 21 at 130 Lockhart Dr. in St. Catharines. An open house will be from 3 to 6 p.m., with formal remarks beginning at 3:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

While many of CAPA’s programs have been in existence for more than 25 years, CAPA officially became a research centre only four years ago, and until last year, its in-person programs, projects and services were being offered at a variety of community locations across Niagara.

In January 2023, when the Brock Functional Inclusive Training (Bfit) Centre moved to its new location at Canada Games Park, CAPA moved into its Lockhart Drive home.

CAPA offers an array of inclusive physical activity programs across the lifespan for diverse individuals in Niagara:

• Supporting Neurodiversity through Adaptive Programming (SNAP): Developmentally appropriate movement education programming for individuals experiencing disability in the Niagara region. CAPA offers SNAP experiences for Tiny Tots, school aged children (six to 18) and teens, adults and seniors.
• SNAP Summer Movement Camp: A summer program for autistic and other neurodiverse teens and adults who experience success with one-to-one or greater ratios of support in activity settings.
• Confident Healthy Active Role Models (CHARM): An adaptive physical activity and life skills development program for youth who are underserved in Niagara’s typical educational environments.
• Side By Side: Physical activity programming for groups of adults with developmental disabilities, created in partnership with several Associations for Community Living in Niagara and Brock Kinesiology and Physical Education students.

In addition to serving disabled and neurodiverse people in Niagara through its physical activity programming, CAPA carries out consultative and inclusive research that involves members of disability communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of research that directly impacts and benefits disabled people, their families and caregivers.

CAPA also offers training and professional development in inclusive practices to members of the Niagara community and experiential learning opportunities to Brock University students.

For more information, or questions about CAPA, visit the CAPA website or email Maureen Connolly, CAPA Director and Brock Kinesiology Professor, at mconnolly@brocku.ca