Over 1,300 athletes gathered in Brandon, Man., last week to compete in the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games and Squamish sent five proud on a quest for five-pin bowling glory.
Jeramy Boyd, 25, Jesse Bauer, 21, Nick McDermot, 23, Tyler MacLeod, 23, Stewart MacConnachie, 43, all trained for the games on Squamish's five-pin bowling Team's One and Two.
On the day of departure, the athletes attended a breakfast for B.C.'s team in Vancouver, and McDermot was unable to attend and ended up missing the event, but the other four athletes made competed. For some, it the first-ever trip on their own, and was described as a "great" experience.
"It was nice," said Boyd. "It was hot. Hotter than Squamish."
Team Two, made up of McDermot, MacLeod, and MacConnachie and two other athletes from Vancouver finished out of the medals, but MacLeod won a personal silver medal. Team One, made up of Boyd and Bauer plus three athletes from Vancouver, took home the silver medal, and Bauer also took home an individual bronze medal.
He said he enjoyed the different forms of transportation they took on their trip.
"I liked the bus and the plane," said Bauer.
Boyd said the social aspect of the trip was the best part.
"I liked the dance because I got to meet a whole bunch of different people," he said.
Deanna Byers has been working with Special Olympics athletes since 1995 and became the head coach of Squamish's bowling team six years ago. She worked with the two teams through their regional qualifiers two years ago in Vancouver and their Provincial qualifiers last year, where both teams won gold in their divisions. This made them eligible for the Canada Special Olympic Games last week. She said she was proud of their recent efforts and has enjoyed working with them towards the big competition.
"They train year round for this with three months of specific sport training before the event," she said. I find people with challenges, be it physical or mental, have a great spirit of co-operation and I wanted to be involved with them on any level."
Byers, who was not selected as a coach for the provincial team, did not make the trip with the athletes but heard reports from the coaches who were there. "I was really impressed to hear that they handled themselves behavioral-wise," she said. "Apparently they were very sportsmanlike."
Trudy and Doug Lye are the caregivers of McDermot and said that even though he didn't make the trip, his involvement in the sport was invaluable to him.
"We are always looking for new things to do and new people to help out," said Trudy Lye. "There are lots of things to do but not enough people to [help] do it. For Nick [McDermot] it is really important to stimulate his social and mental skills."
The entire team, including McDermot, is already planning for the next Canada Special Olympic Games in two years' time in Quebec City."We want to better next time because we are so good," said Boyd.
Anyone interested in volunteering their time to help coach Special Olympic athletes in Squamish can call Byers at 604-892-9645 or Margie Newington at 604-815-6825.
