Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

Special Olympics

Kamloops Special Olympics basketball tournament is about more than winning and losing

Mar 10, 2020 | 2:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — It was a big weekend for Special Olympics basketball players, as they took to the hardwood at NorKam for the Zone 2 Regional Tournament. The tourney brought teams from across the Okanagan, including Penticton, Kelowna, and Vernon, as well as three Kamloops teams. It was the first step towards the World Championships, which take place in 2020; for most of the athletes, it’s a chance to get out, see some old friends and have fun.

It was one of those clear mismatches you sometimes get in sports. The Kelowna Thunder took on the Kamloops Blazers in Special Olympics basketball action on Saturday. The Blazers couldn’t match up against the Thunder’s size, but that didn’t stop Dominque Baird from having a day.

“I’ve played basketball with tall guys before,” Baird told CFJC Today. “I used to be on a basketball team in high school.”

Baird filled the basket for the Blazers, who came out on the wrong end of the score versus the Thunder. The Thunder went up early but took their foot off the gas, which allowed the local team to get back into the game.

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“I kind of explained to my guys you don’t want to lose by 50, 60 points,” coach Derek Pawley said. “[My guys] love to score, let’s have fun and let them score too. Just have some fun out there and let everyone play. that’s part of the sportsmanship, too.”

When you’re a Special Olympics athlete, being a good sport is more important than dominating in the paint. Kamloops athletes Tyrone Liebenberg and Kent Plettl enjoy spending time with friends from out of town on weekends like this.

“Just how we know each other and how we get together and chat,” Liebenberg explained. “[We] just sit next to each other and cheer for each other on the courts.”

“We’re like good friends. That’s why I like to say ‘good luck’ to them before their games,” Plettl said. “[I like] just being able to say ‘Hi’ to them and tell them how much I miss them.”

For Coach Pawley, it’s those little moments that the athletes experience that he most enjoys.

“It’s awesome; in the last game we played, to watch the little guy come down the floor — the big smile on his face, just to be able to be involved. It’s so much fun to see that,” Pawley said. “It almost brings tears to my eyes watching these kids play. It’s awesome.”

This weekend was Dominique’s first chance to play with her peers.

What’s her favourite part? “Shooting!” Baird replied.

How many points did she have? “I don’t know,” she said with a shrug.

Proof that sports aren’t all about winning and losing.