A Taste of St. Catharines

Much like communities all across the province, St. Catharines-Thorold offers a wide range of sports for its Special Olympics Ontario athletes. Here are just a few stories of teams and athletes in some of those sports. Last summer, the St. Catharines Trappers hosted softball provincial qualifiers. It was a scorching hot day, but all the teams stayed hydrated and had …

Dan Banks and Simone Hubers: Sport Aurora Recognizes SOO Volunteers

Sport Aurora’s 14th Annual Volunteer Recognition Event took place at Wicked Eats on October 27, 2024.  21 local sports organizations celebrated their Volunteers of the Year.  Dan Banks and Simone Hubers were recipients of the Volunteer of the Year awards for their volunteer efforts with Special Olympics Ontario – Aurora. Dan’s Statement— “My volunteer experience with Special Olympics is more than …

Representing Ontario at the 2024 SONA Pickleball Championships

Special Olympics Ontario (SOO) was proud to be included in the 2024 SONA Pickleball Championships from October 17-19. Hosted by Special Olympics South Carolina in Hilton Head, this competition brought together athletes from all across North America. Athletes and coaches from SOO-Meaford & Thornbury proudly represented both Ontario and Canada as they competed with athletes in traditional and unified competition …

Carly Bryden – Disability Employment Awareness Month Spotlight

Meet Carly Bryden from Aurora! Carly is a dedicated athlete, competing in swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, with a background in basketball, soccer, baseball, and bocce. This past spring, Carly participated in the Provincial Spring Games for rhythmic gymnastics, winning a gold, silver, and two bronze medals! She had a blast staying in university dorms with fellow athletes. Carly has also competed …

2024 Team of the Year – London Blazers (London) 

Athletes: Dylan Baughman, Jesse Clifford, Johnny Figg, Chris Freeman, Zach Griffith, Michael Hitchcock, Richard Horner, Kodi Cronk, Chris Lauzon, Kevin MacMullin, Steve Samwell, Scott Tennant, Jacob Thomas, Jamie Walker, Michael Hollis, Jon Van Leeuwen, Ryan McGrath, Eddie Cannom. Coaches: Todd DeSilva, Wendy Scanlan, Brandon Taylor, Suzanne Walker.  The London Blazers have continuously participated at the Regional, Invitational and Provincial levels …

2024 Community Excellence Award – Dan Robar (Sarnia) 

Dan Robar has been with Special Olympics since 1998, consistently active in a wide range of sports including powerlifting, athletics, soccer, swimming, curling, basketball and most recently 5-pin Bowling. This year he competed in powerlifting at the Special Olympics Ontario Provincial Spring Games in Kitchener-Waterloo.  In addition to working at a Foodland Grocery store for almost 20 years, Dan volunteers …

Lisa Butler – Disability Employment Awareness Month Spotlight

Meet Lisa Butler from Peterborough! Lisa is an incredible athlete, participating in floor hockey, 5 & 10-pin bowling, basketball, cross-country skiing, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, kayaking, and track & field with Special Olympics. In 2022, she qualified for Team Canada in cross-country skiing and received a special Team Canada medallion to commemorate that success. She’s also the 2022 Provincial and National …

Marley Gayler – Disability Employment Awareness Month Spotlight

Meet Marley Gayler from Kitchener-Waterloo! Marley competes in powerlifting, basketball, athletics, and cross-country skiing with Special Olympics and has represented Canada on the world stage. She won 3 golds and a silver at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin and is preparing to compete at the World Winter Games in Turin!   When she’s not competing, Marley has been …

Roland Michener Secondary School: Basketball and Beyond

We are Roland Michener Secondary School, and we are the Rebels! Located in the northern mining town of South Porcupine, we’re part of the city of Timmins, known as “The City with a Heart of Gold.” We’ve been honoured to represent our northern area in four separate school championships: Peterborough, Toronto, Kingston, Chatham, and hopefully many more to come! Our …

Jonathon Sibley: Dreams Can Come True!

My name is Jonathon Sibley. I’m 24 years old and an athlete of Special Olympics Ontario, competing with the St. Thomas chapter. Special Olympics means a lot to me because I feel like I belong. I also have the opportunity to compete and succeed in many different sports including competitive swimming, my sport of choice. I’ve made a lot of …