Over 350 Ontario athletes will travel east for the competition
In an effort to improve the sedentary lifestyle of people with intellectual disabilities, the Special Olympics were founded in 1968. Fifty years later, over 900 athletes will compete in the 2018 Special Olympics Canada National Games this summer. The Games are a national sporting event for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Athletes are required to qualify for the meet through competing in various local and provincial tournaments.“Special Olympics competitions are structured so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar gender, age, and ability in equitable divisions,” president and CEO of Special Olympics Ontario, Glenn MacDonell, stated in an interview with The Ontarion. “This makes for exciting competitions.”
There will be nine sports featured at the Games:
- Powerlifting
- Athletics
- Basketball
- Bocce
- Golf
- Soccer
- Rhythmic gymnastics
- Softball
- Swimming
There is also a separate event where athletes will compete in both five-pin and ten-pin bowling in Prince Edward Island.
Team Ontario is the largest team in the Canada National Games, with an astounding 272 athletes travelling to Antigonish, N.S. for the competition. There will also be 92 bowlers from Ontario travelling to P.E.I. to contend for medals.
The Guelph-Wellington area is home to the following competitors:
- Eva Bell and Taylor Redmond competing in athletics
- Jennifer Allen and Marc Richardson competing in the ten-pin bowling event
- A nine-player basketball team travelling to the games,
“The City of Guelph has been a strong supporter of Special Olympics over the years. We have a strong volunteer base that helps run and facilitate community sports all year round,“ MacDonell said when asked about Guelph’s involvement with the organization. “The Guelph community has always been welcoming and the hospitality truly showed at the 2016 Special Olympics Ontario Provincial Spring Games, welcoming more than 1,000 athletes and coaches from across Ontario and involving more than 600 local volunteers.”
In a media release earlier this month, Chef de Mission of Special Olympics Canada, Juli Prokopchuk Brattan, expressed excitement for the athletes about to set forth on this endeavour.
“This is a once in a lifetime experience for the athletes who have been, and will continue to, train hard to achieve their personal best on the national stage,” Prokopchuk Brattan stated. “This is the largest Team Ontario team to date.”With an astounding half of Ontario’s athletes and coaches attending the 2018 National Games for the very first time, it is safe to say that the level of excitement is quite high. “Imagine the feeling and the look on their faces as they walk into the Opening Ceremony. That moment there is my favourite part,” explained MacDonell. “And despite the competition, Special Olympics athletes have sportsmanship like no other. They are there to not only achieve their personal best, but to make new friends that last a lifetime.”
Athletes who successfully qualify from their division at the National Games will have the opportunity to travel to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to compete in the 2019 Special Olympics International Summer Games.
Photo courtesy of Special Olympics