Special Olympics Stratford and Area back in full swing after pandemic breaks

After several long years of uncertainty and public-health precautions, it’s safe to say the programming offered by Special Olympics Stratford and Area is back in full swing.

While the organization’s in-person sports programming for people living with disabilities returned in July 2021 – at least in part, and with many precautions in place – the local Special Olympics chapter wasn’t able to use locals school for the majority of its 2021- 2022 winter-spring season. While the group could offer softball, soccer, golf and track and field after all programming was put on pause in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of school access meant no basketball or floor hockey, while swimming, five-pin bowling and curling programs were offered at reduced capacity with athletes playing in smaller groups.

There were also some issues after Special Olympics Ontario required COVID vaccinations for its volunteers.

“We lost some through that process” said Jane Larkworthy, who serves as community and volunteer co-ordinator, as well as registrar, for the Special Olympics Stratford and Area executive committee, “and then they kind of got it together and decided perhaps the athletes should also be vaccinated. … It was important for everyone to be protected. I was part of a return-to-programming committee, and we had a lot of virtual meetings about how this was going to happen.

“We were fortunate to get back to some of our summer programming the first year. We wore masks and we had hand sanitizer, and everyone had to stay apart.”

While the athletes are still welcome to wear masks if they choose, local Special Olympics programming returned in full force as of last summer, excepting track and field because of a lack of interest. Instead, the local Special Olympics added t-ball, which, along with bowling, are the only sports offered that can accommodate wheelchair users.

Because the organization was again able to use local schools for its 2022-2023 winter and spring seasons, its basketball, floor hockey, swimming, bowling and curling programs were back in full effect. Special Olympics Stratford and Area was even able to host five tournaments for its athletes during that season – one each for floor hockey, basketball and curling, and two bowling tournaments.

On May 27, the organization also held its first athlete banquet, welcoming athletes, their families and Special Olympics volunteers to socialize and celebrate the past year’s achievements, since 2019.

“When we were going through COVID, a lot of things dropped,” said Cathy De Brabandere, the mother of local Special Olympics athlete Andy van Schaik. “Not only for Andy, but we had a friend of Andy’s living in our house as well. In those first days, the look on their faces every time they got another call that this was now not going to happen and that was not going to happen, it was pretty hard. … It was jobs. It was all their activities, their social activities. It was pretty tough in the beginning.”

Jeremiah Klassen, who golfs every summer with Special Olympics Stratford and Area, said he missed the program – and the camaraderie – during the pandemic.

“It’s a joy just to go outside golfing with everyone. I’m getting better,” he said.

Larkworthy said Special Olympics is as much about helping the athletes develop their skills as it is about giving them opportunities to make friends and socialize with their fellow athletes and the volunteers.

For Larry Hitchcock, a volunteer with the local non-profit and father of Michael Hitchcock, one of Special Olympics Stratford and Area’s best golfers, the programming Special Olympics provides his son gives him the opportunity to play the sport he loves with people of all skills and abilities in new and exciting places. For Michael, that includes a tournament in Washington, DC, this summer.

“I think it’s great (to see everything back in full swing),” Larry Hitchcock said at the Stratford Municipal Golf Course on the first day of Special Olympics Stratford and Area’s 2023 golf program. “As a volunteer, it was a void (when programming shut down). You didn’t get to go and you were wondering how the athletes were making out. Maybe one’s not doing so well and you couldn’t go see them. Now that it’s opened back up again, you see them and you’re able to communicate with them. Nothing brings me more joy than being out here.

“Some of them don’t hit the ball very far, but when they hit a good shot and you see the smile on their face and they’re happy, that’s what it’s all about.”

Though the volunteers are happy to be back out on the links, in the bowling alleys and on the soccer pitches with the local athletes, Larry Hitchcock said the organization has a growing need for new volunteers. As volunteers like him get older, the local Special Olympics chapter needs younger people to step in and ensure these athletes continue to have access to the programming that helps them to be their best selves.

For more information on Special Olympics Stratford and Area and to volunteer, visit soostratford.com.

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