Local volunteers have stepped up to the plate to deliver Special Olympics programs in Merritt — now they just need athletes.
Since it was announced in December that Merritt would be the 56th Special Olympics community in B.C., all the board positions have been filled.
Now, organizers are looking for coaches, athletes, and of course, input on which sports they should run.
The local organizers are holding a meet-and-greet for prospective athletes, coaches and anyone else who’s interested in the program on March 6 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
Interior Community Services program co-ordinator Chelsea Morrey said cross-country skiing, curling, bowling and swimming are some of the popular local sports that could end up in the running for the first two sports picked for Merritt’s Special Olympics.
Participants pay a to-be-determined nominal fee each year, and the chapter will offer one summer and one winter sport to start.
“We didn’t want to just go ahead and pick a winter or summer sport and say, ‘Here it is,’” Morrey said. “We want to find out who are the athletes and what do they want? What will work for them, our community and what kind of facilities we have?”
Morrey said it only takes one athlete to identify a sport for the program to run.
There are no age restrictions for Special Olympics athletes.
“Although we always look at the schools to point us in the right direction, we also want to look at the community to see what adults are out there with intellectual disabilities who would love to get engaged in sport and at a competitive level,” she said.
“They can be school age all the way to their mid-20s, 30s, 40s, 50s — whatever it may be.”
There is no limit for the number of athletes the program can support.
They’re also seeking volunteers and coaches to help with Club Fit, a general conditioning program which will run Thursdays after school at Central Elementary from late April to mid-June.
“You can’t just take an athlete and throw them into a sport. Club Fit gives them the ability to start conditioning and working toward what sport they want to go into and making sure they’re physically fit and understand the aspects of the sport,” she said.
Morrey said if there are athletes who don’t want to participate in the sports that are chosen, they can still participate in Club Fit and the local chapter will work with other Special Olympics communities to get that athlete competing. Nearby Special Olympics chapters include Princeton, Vernon and Kelowna.
Most of the financial support for Special Olympics comes from fundraising, which will start with a steak dinner at the Grand Pub and Grill on March 1. Tickets are available at Interior Community Services or by contacting Special Olympics Merritt program co-ordinator Brenda Curnow at [email protected].
Local teacher Erica Martindale will be the chapter’s head coach, overseeing all the coaches for whichever sports end up being chosen.
Morrey said it’s exciting to finally have the program running now, thanks to a full board of volunteers, but it wasn’t necessarily easy.
Organizers had tried three times in the past to start up a Special Olympics chapter in Merritt, but those attempts fell through for one reason or another.
“We couldn’t get public interest or we couldn’t get enough people to sign up, and this time we have an immense number of volunteers and people who are stepping up and taking on the roles on the board,” she said, adding the timing just seemed right.
“None of this can work without the volunteers and the support of the community.”
Anyone seeking more information about Special Olympics in Merritt can email local co-ordinator Byron Robbie at [email protected].
