When Ken Ruthven opened the Kemway Lanes bowling alley with his brother 22 years ago, he had no association whatsoever with the Special Olympics. Today, after serving as president of the Humboldt Special Olympics since 1998, it's an integral part of his life, sparked by a chance encounter when a Special Olympics bowling event visited his business nearly 20 years ago.
"A lady there asked me if I wanted to be the liaison for five-pin bowling and that's what got me started," Ruthven said.
On the weekend of June 21, he traveled to Saskatoon with several local athletes participating in the 2013 Special Olympics Saskatchewan Provincial Summer Games. The athletes were competing for the chance to travel to Vancouver next summer for the national championships, but those results won't be known for at least a month. What we do know is that Quill Lake resident Lauren Weigel had herself a great weekend on the track, taking home four gold and three silver medals. Weigel was in Athens, Greece in 2011 for the World Summer Games and won a bronze medal in the 800-metre race, so it was little surprise that she fared so well in Saskatoon.
For Ruthven, the most rewarding part of being a coach isn't the medals or the victories, but the attitude of the athletes.
"They're so excited about everything," he said. "I just love being around them. If they throw a gutter ball, it doesn't bother them at all," he said. "But when they do get strikes and spares, they just love it."
Coaching has also given Ruthven some lifelong fans.
"There's one girl who won a gold medal, and she keeps saying to me, 'You're the best coach around, you're great,'" he said with a laugh.
