The Special Olympics in Yorkton are rebuilding, with plans for new sports to get athletes with intellectual disabilities actively participating in athletics. That plan means they are looking for coaches and volunteers to help expand what Special Olympics can offer in the city.
Betty-Ann Shalkowsky says that the rebuilding process can be seen in the increasing number of athletes and volunteers in the area. For the athletes, there are 25 registered for 2015, up from 11 last year, and there are now more events for those members. Bowling has long been a staple in the area, but events have expanded to include bocce ball, snowshoeing, swimming and golf.
They’re hoping to get other sports off the ground as well, such as softball, curling and floor hockey, but Shalkowsky says they need people to coach.
“There are all kinds of things we could have if we had volunteers that were willing to come out and coach.”
She says that coaches need patience and some understanding of people with disabilities, as well as being able to recognize how people are individuals with different needs. However, she says that working with them is an incredibly rewarding experience.
“They’re loving people to work with, and appreciate anything you can give them.”
The Yorkton team has been doing well, the bowling team took home four individual medals at the recent meet in Saskatoon, with teams getting gold and silver in the team competition.
She says that having attended competitions up to the national level, the Special Olympics are serious competitions, but ones where athletes showcase the ideal of friendly competition, supporting each other and helping when an athlete needs it.
“Some of these athletes could complete against generic athletes and do well... I find that Special Olympians, whether it’s a job or whether it’s a sport, when they want to get involved they put their whole effort into it, and they really play and play hard... If you go to a national games, you can see how competitive they can get, but they’re also very sportsmanlike... I’ve seen athletes fall, and others will stop and help them get up in the race. One in Sudbury in the 1998 games, when he got to the line first he stopped, turned around, and encouraged everyone to keep going and gave high fives and hugs to everyone who crossed the finish line.”
The other, more important measure of the program’s success is the difference it makes in the lives of the athletes themselves, with the stated goal of enriching the lives of individuals with an intellectual disability through active participation in sport. Shalkowsky has seen first hand how lives can be enriched through these programs.
“There were a couple of fellows that joined us last year who were very non-verbal... We found that after working with them in the bowling alley, they are different now, their families have noticed it and we have noticed it. They’re coming out and they’re talking and they’re telling us things, while before it would be a shrug if you asked them anything... They blossom, and it’s marvelous to see that.”
Another area where Special Olympics needs support is in fundraising efforts, as running the programs takes a fair bit of money. The trip to Saskatoon took $4,000, for example, once costs were added up for all eleven athletes to attend.
“Athletes pay some portion of the cost, but if an athlete is unable to pay we will find a way. We don’t want someone to miss out because they can’t afford it.”
As a result, in order to get the community more aware of what Special Olympics is doing in the area as well as raise money, they have several events coming up. People are doing yardwork for money to Special Olympics and there will be a walkathon at the end of May at Century Field. Athletes will also be at Staples on May 13 and 20 to participate in the Give a Toonie, Share a Dream program, set up to support Special Olympics programming.
There will be a torch run on June 13 from the Gallagher Centre which ends at Sacred Heart High School. This will not be a fundraiser, Shalkowsky notes, but will be run together with a Sacred Heart event to raise awareness.
To get involved in Special Olympics, whether as a coach, volunteer or athlete, get in touch with Shalkowsky at 306-435-9501 or [email protected].
