Special Olympics a special cause for the city police
Opening ceremonies for Ontario School Championships today
More than 300 volunteers and 1,000 student athletes are expected to gather Tuesday night at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Special Olympics Ontario School Championships being hosted by Peterborough.
Athletes raging from 13 to 21 will be competing on behalf of their schools at this two-day fundraising event, taking place at venues across the city.
The opening ceremony starts Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Centre.
Local athletes from Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board will be a part of the opening and closing ceremonies.
Several athletes from KPR high schools will be competing in the upcoming event alongside many other schools from across Ontario.
Campbellford District High School and Adam Scott Collegiate teams will be competing in basketball.
Crestwood Secondary School teams will be competing in floor hockey.
Adam Scott and East Northumberland Secondary School teams are competing in soccer, while Adam Scott and Kenner have athletes competing in track and field.
This year’s fundraiser is said to be the largest one yet since the very first event in 2012, said Kirsten Bobbie, manager of the Invitational Youth Games at Special Olympics Ontario.
The competition will include
five main sporting events: basketball, bocce, floor hockey, soccer and track and field, with each team divided into two divisions.
Division one involves traditional teams comprised entirely of athletes with an intellectual disability. The second division will be unified teams comprised entirely of athletes with, and without disabilities all playing together.
Trent University will be hosting both unified and traditional bocce teams, as well as unified basketball teams. Fleming College will be hosting both unified and traditional soccer teams.
Kinsmen Civic Centre will host both floor hockey teams. St. Peter Secondary School will host the traditional basketball teams. Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School will host the track and field events.
Round robin and preliminary races will begin Wednesday at 8 a.m. with playoffs and finals at 11:30 a.m., and the medal presentation will commence at 2:30 p.m.
The Peterborough Police Service has been one of the top fundraisers in Ontario for the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which raises money for the Special Olympics.
Special Olympics Ontario is the charity of choice for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
“We look for fantastic police service and sponsors when choosing a location to host this event and the Peterborough Police Service fit the criteria perfectly,” Bobbie said.
In Ontario, more than 25,000 children and adults benefit from Special Olympics.
The organization was created to help those with intellectual disabilities realize they have the ability to still be involved in sports through year round training and competition.