100 Mile will be hosting the five-pin bowling qualifiers at Big Country Lanes for the 2019 Special Olympics British Columbia Summer Games in March 2018.
“From there, they can go to the summer games,” said Debra Thiessen, 100 Mile’s Special Olympics team coordinator of eight years. “The Special Olympics is the only thing they can really get involved in.”
Thiessen sent out a team of five to Kamloops for the 2017 games after qualifying at a regional event in Dawson Creek. One of the athletes, Jared Douglas, won a gold medal during the regional qualifiers but didn’t manage to capture the same form in Kamloops.
“Unfortunately, when they got to the Summer Games in Kamloops, of course with everything else going on around them this summer, with the nerves and whatnot they didn’t qualify for the World Games,” she said.
But Thiessen has noticed a big change in the athletes after the big event.
“They came back with the experience, they came back with “hey, I can do this,” and a lot of self-confidence,” she said. “So that’s why we get together as a group.”
The other four athletes are Krista Connell, Paul Jansen, Aaron Goodwill and Tricia Beauvouis. The age range of the athletes in the adult group is 18-55 and all have diverse disabilities.
Right now, the two sports the organization offers are bowling and golf. Brett Tassell, a golfer went to the Summer Games and came in fourth and found the experience fun.
Hoping to get back to the Summer Games, the team will be doing a lot of fundraising including a tree hunt on Nov. 26 and selling decorated mugs during the Christmas season Thiessen and the team make.
The fundraising is to help the athletes afford the means to get to out-of-town qualifiers and the big tournaments because they can’t afford the extra expense, says Thiessen.
One of the big reasons these athletes are able to participate is how the community reacts to their various fundraising efforts throughout the years, according to the coordinator.
“They know who they’re supporting. I think all of the community knows this is something we have for people with diverse disabilities and their huge supporters,” Thiessen said. “We don’t have people running past our table saying ‘no, I don’t want to.’ It’s amazing how many don’t want the cup, they just give us the money.”