Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

OPENING CEREMONY

2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games kicks off with a huge celebration

Feb 3, 2023 | 11:31 AM

KAMLOOPS — Excitement was thick in the air at the Tournament Capital Centre on Thursday night (Feb. 2), as athletes from across BC and the Yukon piled into the building ahead of the Special Olympics BC Winter Games.

“Yo, yo, yo, we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Ryan Isaac, Region 4 floor hockey player rapped.

“It’s my first time doing actual provincials for any kind of competition,” Layne Benoit, cross-country skier from Cranbrook explains. “I’m very excited.”

“We’re definitely fired up,” Ryan’s Region 4 teammate Connor McCracken says.

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“It’s so amazing, we have so much fun together. Good sportsmanship,” Samuel Russell says, alongside his curling teammates from Prince George.

For these athletes, this was the first time they’ve been able to gather for a provincial event like this since before the pandemic hit. It was an opportunity to connect with old friends.

“I have friends that I have not seen for a long time, like my best friend Sebastian,” Jake Miller, snowshoer from Trail explains.

While for others, the games will be an opportunity to get to know new teammates.

“I’m playing with Delta, so I’m not playing with my usual team,” McCracken says. “Getting to get to know some of these guys here, and hopefully getting to bond with my new teammates.”

Once the regions started to pile into the fieldhouse, that simmering excitement started to boil over. The Opening Ceremony featured some quality entertainment, including the Sage Hills drummers and dancers from Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, as well as the TRU Cheerleaders

A pair of local athletes also took part in the opening. Josh Trudell helped give the athlete’s oath, while Kristin White lit the torch. Both relished their roles in the ceremony.

“It was actually pretty good, for my first time doing it,” White says. “I’ve never done it before, but I quite liked it.”

“It was great, it was a real honour to open the ceremonies,” Trudell says. “It was my first time doing it, so it feels good.”

Matthew Williams is a Special Olympics Canada athlete and serves as a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors. From his spot at the podium as one of the MCs of the Opening Ceremony, the energy in the TCC was electric.

“The joy and how proud people are to be able to represent their province, it really shows how much this truly means to all of us,” Williams says. “To get to witness that meant so much, and to be able to co-MC, and see the impact that Special Olympics has — not just for me, but for all my fellow athletes — truly meant a lot.”

Competition is underway in all eight events of the 2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games. The event wraps up on Saturday.