A group of athletes from Castlegar have recently returned home victorious from the 2017 Special Olympics BC Summer Games. The provincial games took place in Kamloops and included nearly 1200 athletes who earned their spots during 2016 regional qualifiers.
Swimmer Chris Paulson brought home two gold medals, one in the 25-metre freestyle and the other in 50-metre breast stroke.
Swimmer Liam Donnelly earned a bronze medal in the 25-metre butterfly.
The swimmers were coached at the event by Meagan Pilla and Chris Ingraham. They have been training about twice a week since the fall.
The bowling team made up of Mike Cook, Jay Melnick, Thomas Bell, Wayne James and Mike Bruce brought home a silver in 5-pin. The team played six games over the course of two days and was coached by Lynn Smith.
The team found the competition to be challenging, but still managed to come out on top.
“There were a lot of experienced bowlers with disabilities such as us, but it seemed they had been playing for years,” said Cook. “They had their skills right down to a T.”
Other challenges the athletes faced were the extreme heat at the time and the intense smoke from nearby forest fires.
Highlights for the athletes included the opening ceremony of the games which they found to be spectacular and included a torch lighting, stunt cyclist, representatives from the Canadian Armed Forces and live music.
The consensus was that the bands were awesome.
They also count rooming together as a highlight and not-so-highlight, thanks to the snoring of one of the bowlers who has earned the nickname of chainsaw. Most of the group thought the showers were cold, but swimmer Liam Donnelly contradicted, “I thought they were refreshing!”
The athletes acknowledge they couldn’t have done it without the support of their coaches, assistants and the volunteers.
“I would like to say thank-you for the support of the people who came with me,” said Chris Paulson.
The bowlers were also thankful that Roland from Castlebowl had opened up the lanes for them to practice, even when the bowling alley was closed.
If you are interested in learning more about the local Special Olympics program, organizers will have a booth set up at the Parade of Programs that will be taking place at the Castlegar & District Community Complex on Sept. 6 from 5-7:30 p.m.
To support the local program, you can participate in their annual bottle drive that is going on now until the end of October by dropping your recyclables at 2908 Columbia Ave.
