Special Olympics return to B.C. after pandemic break

Over 500 British Columbian athletes with intellectual disabilities are in Kamloops at the 2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games.

Running from Thursday to Saturday, the games are the first to take place in the last four years due to the pandemic.

Curler Daniel Thomas says the Special Olympics helped him overcome feelings of anxiety and self-worth issues.

“It helps us frame a lot of our lives and gives us something to look forward to, and to pursue, and to master,” he said.

“And without that, for a while, it was incredibly tough. But just knowing that it would come back one day was enough to keep me going.”

Thomas says he first picked up curling in 2021 and this is his first provincial winter games in the sport.

Over 500 British Columbian athletes with intellectual disabilities are in Kamloops at the 2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games.(Photo courtesy Special Olympics BC)

“Curling definitely brings me a lot of joy. It brings me discipline to follow myself, and it gives me companionship from my teammates, and coaches, and something to better myself along the way — and it’s incredibly fun, too,” he said.

Figure Skater Sheryl Spurr is also competing this year and says she has high hopes for the competition.

“I’m hoping to go to nationals, so exciting, because last time I was in nationals I was in Quebec,” she said. “Nationals is a big step, and we’d like to go back to Nationals because it felt good.”

Spurr says she’s been skating since she was in Grade 7, and she is looking forward to beating her personal best in figure skating.

Over 500 British Columbian athletes with intellectual disabilities are in Kamloops at the 2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games.(Photo courtesy Special Olympics BC)

She adds that she is also excited to make new friends and to see old ones, something that the chair of the Special Olympics says is vital to the event.

“They’re building friendships that last forever, and that’s why it was so difficult for them during COVID when they lost all of that,” Jan Antons, a chairperson for this year’s winter games, said.

“There are some athletes with intellectual disabilities, I think it took a long time for them to understand that, ‘hey, this is just temporary, right?’ So now they’re realizing again we’re back…and I think that just says a lot. And they all want to come back and just compete.”

Even if he doesn’t win, Thomas says participating in the competition is a dream come true.

“Remember the athlete’s oath, which is, ‘Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt,'” Thomas said.

“Just being able to rub shoulders, brush brooms with people from all over the province, is just a dream come true enough in of itself.”