Special Olympians play ringette
Floor hockey event a qualifier for provincial finals
The Special Olympics returned to Peterborough on Thursday, hosting a variation of traditional floor hockey at the Evinrude Centre.
The Special Olympics version of floor hockey is different in two key ways. The sticks are just straight poles with no blades on the end and instead of a bright orange ball or puck like regular floor hockey a large ring is used.
This version is called ringette and was invented by Canadian Sam Jacks and Canadian sportsman Mirl “Red” McCarthy in 1963 in northern Ontario.
“This was the original sport for Special Olympics in Canada, and was organized by Dr. Frank Hayden (the Windsor, Ont. professor who pioneered Special Olympics),” said Brock Robinson, an co-ordinator and referee at the event.
“It’s really cool to be able bring this tradition to the athletes nowadays.”
Holy Cross Secondary School Grade 9 student Jon Hughes says he joined in the tournament to be with his friend since kindergarten, Mitchell McCall, a former Easter Seals Telethon ambassador.
Hughes is in the Amigos program with McCall, where they eat lunch together and play games along with others in the program.
Hughes said that he thinks ringette is a lot of fun and that it’s a lot easier for others to pick up. The ring is much easier to handle compared to a ball or puck, he added.
“It’s a really great time to try out new and different sports and what better way than with different schools in the community,” said Annie Lawler, a Grade 12 student on the St. Peter Secondary School unified team.
Unified teams pair an athlete with someone of a similar age and ability. It’s inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
Annie’s partner, fellow St. Peter’s Grade 12 Ryan Shaughnessy, agreed, saying that the day was really fun and that it’s really nice to see all the schools get together and having fun with competition.
Four schools, Holy Cross, St. Peter, Crestwood Secondary School and I.E. Weldon Secondary School from Lindsay, competed with two teams each, with a chance to advance to the provincials being held next month in Peterborough.