Published May 03, 2024 • 2 minute read
Put to the test by a series of running, jumping and throwing challenges, Special Olympics student athletes from across Windsor-Essex are demonstrating their champion spirit this week.
Hundreds of competitors are participating in the annual Special Olympics Day of Champions organized by the Greater Essex County District School Board at Sandwich Secondary School on Thursday and Friday.
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“It’s fun and it gets a little competitive,” said GECDSB public relations officer Scott Scantlebury.
“This is a great opportunity for kids with special needs to really get out there and test themselves against their peers.”
The two-day event kicked off with an opening ceremony Thursday morning, as hundreds of competitors paraded around the track in their school jerseys ahead of the action.
Elementary school athletes were competing Thursday, while secondary students are on Friday’s competition schedule.
Athletes go head-to-head in a number of running, jumping and throwing challenges. The elementary students’ lengthiest run is the 400-metre dash.
Races and competitions are also designed to accommodate non-ambulatory students or those with physical disabilities.
Scantlebury said the attendees who come out to cheer on the competitors from the sidelines is “always pretty impressive.”
Even amidst the competition, Scantlebury said there is “lots of support” for the participants, particularly from the high school leadership students helping to run the events who are “always so enthusiastic and supportive of the kids.
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“We’ve got hundreds of student athletes and competitors. They’re accompanied by members of staff from the schools. There’s usually a couple hundred of them. And countless parents and friends who come out to see some of the events.”
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Perhaps the Day of Champions highlight, he said, are the social gatherings held in the gymnasium after the competitions have concluded, when the athletes can let loose and dance and sing with their friends.
“It’s nice to have that social aspect of the event for them to get together and see friends they don’t get to see very often,” Scantlebury said.
“That’s an important facet of what the Day of Champions is about.”
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