麻豆社区

Yukon Special Olympics has named a team for the upcoming 2023 B.C. Winter Games.

The Games take place in Kamloops Feb. 2-5.

The Star spoke Monday with Andrew Elines, program director for Yukon Special Olympics and the chef de mission for the B.C. Winter Games.

鈥淭o be chosen for Special Olympics team Yukon, they need to be a registered Special Olympics athlete for at least a program season. And they commit to training frequently from the selection process up until the Game鈥檚 time. We are sending eight athletes. So a team of four curlers, three cross country skiers and one figure skater.

鈥淭hey have to be endorsed by the organization, their coaches and their caregivers. And part of the endorsement would be that commitment to training and being able to travel.

鈥淭he athletes have been training two to three times a week from October, and they will continue to train up until the week of (the) Games.鈥�

鈥淎ll Special Olympics falls under Special Olympics Canada and we attend the Special Olympics B.C.鈥檚 Winter Games for Provincials just to ensure we can provide meaningful competition for the athletes,鈥� explained Elines.

鈥淲e do work with other sport organizations. So for example, our figure skater shares ice times with Arctic Edge the skating club here. Our curling team is a part of the Whitehorse curling club鈥檚 Thursday night League. So we have many partnerships with local Sport organizations again to ensure we can provide opportunities and competition for the athletes here.鈥�

Elines said some Special Olympics athletes have intellectual and physical disabilities.

鈥淥ur mission statement is we enrich the lives of Yukoners with intellectual disabilities through sport. So they all have intellectual disabilities. Some may also have a physical disability.鈥�

Elines said there is 鈥渓oads鈥� of experience on the team.

鈥淭he last time we went through the winter cycle 鈥� because we follow a similar cycle as the Olympics would every four years 鈥� we took athletes to the Canada National Winter Games in Thunder Bay. And seven of these eight athletes that are traveling to provincials this time around attended those games, in the same sport. And many of them have traveled in other sports and competitions. A lot of them travel for summer sports as well. So I would say lots of experience.鈥�

Quite a few of the athletes are multi-sport athletes. There are 10 winter sports and four summer sports they can join.

鈥淚t is $50 for the year for them to participate in and we call that a commitment fee,鈥� related Elines. 鈥淎nd they can join as many sports as they like, so as well as training two to three times a week for the sport that they are traveling in. And that is the sport that we want them to really commit and focus on of course. Many of them do participate in at least one or two other sports as well. So I would say any of these athletes are in our programs four times a week.鈥�

Elines said the athletes are excited about being selected since this is the first competition that they鈥檙e able to travel in of this capacity post-pandemic.

鈥淏eing provincials, it鈥檚 a multi sport games. We鈥檙e all traveling together as one team Yukon. It鈥檚 a big deal, for them and us, and they are very excited and pumped and also committed and dedicated to their sport and representing themselves as best as they can at these games.鈥�

Elines said the athletes are restricted to one sport each at the Games.

鈥淭hey can travel for one sport and some might have multiple events.鈥� For instance, all of them will be in three different distance events for cross country skiing.

鈥淥ur figure skater, Mike Sumner is also traveling to Canada Winter Games to represent Team Yukon in figure skating. The Special Olympics figure skating category.鈥�

The Star also spoke with Sumner Monday.

鈥淚 feel pretty confident in my abilities 鈥� This is a good opportunity to show off what I鈥檝e been working on for the past few years,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 felt very confident and gracious to get this opportunity once again.

鈥淚 was kind of expecting this to be coming up.鈥�

Sumner thinks his past experience will pay off for this event.

鈥淚 think it will play in really well considering I鈥檝e been to a couple of these provincial games for winter and summer.鈥�

He has been doing two or three days of on-ice figure skating and two or three days of off-ice training per week.

鈥淲e used to do the elements portion and the the long program, but it鈥檚 just going to be the long program,鈥� related Sumner.

鈥淚鈥檝e been doing a little bit of training on my new routine. And I feel confident in it.鈥�

Sumner said he鈥檚 been practicing his new routine for two or three months now.

鈥淚t鈥檚 coming along,鈥� he said.

As part of his new routine, Sumner has been working on a toe loop and a salchow.

鈥淚 feel pretty optimistic about going to the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games. And I feel like I鈥檓 just gonna go out and perform my personal best and give it everything I鈥檝e got for the B.C. provincials.鈥�

According to Elines, Sumner has been working hard at his Level 3 skating program. It鈥檚 the same level he went through for the Special Olympic cycle for Nationals the last time around.

Special Olympics divides athletes based on gender, age and ability levels to create meaningful competition. Sumner has advanced through Levels 1 and 2 and is now, of course, at Level 3.

Despite this being a B.C. competition, Elines said Yukon Special Olympics will be focused solely on their athletes.

鈥淭he main goal I would say for us and the athletes is we want them to go out there and demonstrate what they are capable of and achieve personal bests. That being said, is that we want them all to have aims to qualify to National Games the following year, which is being held in Calgary.

鈥淪o their performances will go towards their chances of making it to Nationals the following year.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 stress this enough, but how hard I have seen them train these last few months, I think they all have a great chance, but (it鈥檚) too early to say how that actually goes.鈥�

Despite bowling being a part of the B.C. Games, Yukon bowlers won鈥檛 be taking part.

鈥淲e do an in-house bowling championships,鈥� said Elines. 鈥淲e do a Yukon championships because we can provide meaningful competition in bowling. Our bowling program has over 30 athletes this year.鈥�

Five bowlers from Special Olympics Yukon have the opportunity to qualify for Special Olympics Canada Winter Games 2024.

Elines describes how the Games are scheduled.

鈥淭here鈥檚 (an) opening ceremony on the second (of February) in the evening, to announce the games and let them commence and then the third and fourth are the days of competition. And then on the evening of the fourth, there鈥檒l be a closing ceremony, celebration and dance. And then we鈥檒l fly back on the fifth.鈥�

Special Olympics is sponsored by the Government of Yukon and Urban Realty Group.

Elines added 鈥淚t never ceases to amaze me 鈥� the level of dedication and commitment these athletes put in. And I鈥檓 just happy to be going along for the ride and being a part of the team in whatever capacity. It鈥檚 great stuff, honestly. I love the work, the organization.

鈥淎 big thank you to the coaches and mission staff that are traveling as well, because without them we really wouldn鈥檛 be able to 鈥� and the amount of hours that they put in to train our athletes. The athletes dedicate so many hours to this, but the coaches do that and more in terms of the practice planning and planning each session out, going to the competitions, taking the time out of out of their lives. So yeah, it鈥檚 a massive commitment for everyone.鈥�