Season Eight - Episode One - The PAAL Program

Hello and welcome to Season Eight debut of YXE Underground. I’m Eric Anderson and welcome to the University of Saskatchewan’s Physical Activity for Active Living, or PAAL, program.

It’s a Wednesday night in late August. I’m in the gymnasium room of the Physical Activity Complex on the UofS campus. There are children and teenagers running and jumping on different obstacles set up throughout the space, and they’re joined by high school and university student volunteers who are helping them make the most of their time tonight.

PAAL is a program for individuals of all ages who are experiencing physical and or intellectual disabilities. Its mission is to provide quality physical activity focusing on fun, skill development and social interaction.

On this night, the child/teen PAAL program is wrapping up its summer session for youth ages 5 to 18. Half of the class is here in the gymnasium while the other half is downstairs in the pool…which we will visit later on. 

It’s hard to articulate just how much positivity and joy are taking place in these two spaces, but I hope by the end of the episode, you will be able to feel just how impactful PAAL is for the participants, the student volunteers, and the parents of the children. 

You can listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the YXE Underground website, and I am excited to say that you can now listen to the podcast on YouTube! It only took eight years. Simply search YXE Underground on YouTube and you will find all 116 episodes of the podcast.

Don’t forget to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear.

A big thank you to Saskatoon photographer Rona Andreas for taking amazing photos for this episode, which you can see on Facebook, Instagram and X. Simply search YXE Underground.

Thank you also to Saskatoon’s Danger Dynamite for creating and maintaining the website and to Saskatoon’s Vita Beauty Bar for supporting this episode.

Before I go, I would like to acknowledge that these interviews were gathered on Treaty Six territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis.

Thank you so much for listening and for your continued support!

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis